


the Wonders of Autocorrect

by Gedachtenextracten



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gedachtenextracten/pseuds/Gedachtenextracten
Summary: What happens when Gail toilet papers the wrong house?





	1. Chapter 1

It looked fantastic, even if she said so herself. It was almost soothing, the way the colourful paper moved every time the cool night breeze picked up again. It was in nice contrast with the slowly darkening evening sky. She was just about to put on the finishing touch, when a car stopped right behind her. The door opened and an upset looking man stepped outside.

“Hey, you!” He raised his hands in question. “What on earth do you think you’re doing? That’s my house!”

“I am decorating it. Donning it in appropriate gear for the piece of shit that lives inside.” She was mad at Nick, and she didn’t care who could hear them.

“Excuse me?” He nervously pushed his glasses back on his nose.

“You heard me.” She gave him her best glare. “That kid of yours decided to cheat on me with Girl Scout from PE. They’re both ass-wipes. Toilet papering your house seemed appropriate.”

“My kid did what?” He looked shocked. Then he sighed. “So you threw toilet paper all over my house? In all this years, I have never had anything like this happen before. With any of my kids. “ He shook his head. “And I honestly never expected this from any of them,” he added softly.

 _Kids? Plural? Oh, great. So Nick even kept having siblings a secret from her? That_ jerk _._

“Look, young lady. I honestly don’t know what to do with this. I think you two should just talk this out, yeah? I bet you’re mature enough.” He eyed her.

She didn’t know about _that_. Even he seemed to question his own statement right as he said it. But at least Nick’s dad didn’t seem to be as upset as before.

“I’ll get her and then you can talk to her.”

 _Wait- what?_ Her? _What was he talking about?_

He opened the door and shouted upstairs. “Holly!”

_Oh, fuck._

______________

 

Maybe, if Gail hadn’t been so angry, she would have done a better job of double checking Nick’s address before angrily jamming her phone’s keyboard when typing it in on Google maps. She had never been to his house before, so she hadn’t even considered this could be the wrong house. In fact, that should have given it away. She should have known something was up. Nick always found excuses not to invite her over at his place, claiming his parents didn’t like him having a girlfriend or that they were having people over. They couldn’t go to her place either, since her parents didn’t like him very much. They’d always found other places to hang out. She couldn’t have known this house wasn’t his, could she? She hoped she’d be long gone when they opened their mailbox to see the ‘present’ she’d posted. She groaned at the thought.

______________

 

Someone’s footsteps padded down the stairs. Then a brown-haired girl appeared, laptop in one hand and one earbud of her earphones still in. She was clad in only shorts and a white t-shirt that was a little to big on her. She’d obviously planned on spending her evening relaxing. “What’s wrong dad?” Then she saw Gail, and a questioning look crossed her face.

“This young lady claims you cheated on her, and I quote, “with that Girl Scout from PE”. Your mother is not here and I don’t know how to handle this. So I suggest the two of you remove all this toilet paper from our house and our yard and talk it out in the meantime, yeah?”

Holly looked at their front yard and her eyes widened. She had been watching a movie on her laptop and hadn’t heard her house being, erm, decorated by the other girl.

“Um, sure…” She adjusted her glasses, not sure how to handle this situation either.  _Guess the glasses thing runs in the family_.

Holly’s dad took her laptop from her hands, went inside and closed the front door behind him. Holly turned to look at Gail and raised her eyebrows in question.

“Erm… Hi?” Gail hunched her shoulders and looked at her sheepishly.

“What is this?” whispered Holly. “Who are you? How did I cheat on you?” _And why would I ever cheat on_ you?, she added as an afterthought.

Gail flushed bright red. She was internally cursing her pale skin tone and the fact that it wasn’t nearly dark enough outside to hide her blush. “I, um. I think I’ve got the wrong address.”

And then Holly did something Gail had not expected. She started to laugh. It started as a giggle that she tried to hide behind her sleeve but then rapidly turned into an actual full-on laugh. She threw her head backwards and took off her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Oh, god.”

Gail glared at her. “This is not funny.”

“Oh, but it _is_.” Holly started giggling again. She put her glasses back on. “Poor dad. I’m just glad this is happening today and not last month. I only came out, like, two weeks ago, and now there’s a girl on my doorstep claiming I _cheated_ on her. Good timing.” Holly took a few steps forward and looked around. “And the variety of colours was a nice touch, too.”

Gail couldn’t stop herself from smiling through her glare.  “Yeah, well. Glad I could be of service.”

Holly grinned at her. She was quite relieved that Gail hadn’t even batted an eye after her revelation. “Speaking of being of service. Come on, stranger, let’s clean up this mess.”

______________

 

“So, Gaiiiil,” Holly drawled out while bending down to pick up some pieces of bright blue toilet paper. “Do enlighten me. What made you come here and add some colour to my day?”

Gail snorted. “Go easy on the puns, nerd.”

Holly gave her a crooked smile. Gail liked the way it brought out the dimples in her cheeks. “You’re not getting away with changing the topic.”

Gail was toying with a piece of toilet paper and rolled it into a ball. “I found out that Nick cheated on me.”

“Nick’s your boyfriend then?”

Gail huffed. “Not anymore, no.”

“So, how come you’ve ended up at my house and not his?”

“I, uh. Google must have autocorrected the address I typed in.”

“Oh.” Holly looked thoughtful. “Well, at least you got your revenge, yeah? You’ve thrown enough toilet paper around. Do you think you’ve got rid of the shitty feelings?”

Gail threw the ball of paper at her. “Shove it, nerd.”

Holly laughed. “You’re a bit rude sometimes, aren’t you?” It was said without any menace, something Gail wasn’t used to.

“Am not.” Her protest was weak though.

“Are too.” Holly went back to picking up pieces of paper. She tossed them in the garbage bag her dad had brought over earlier and contemplated her next question. “So, this Girl Scout, do I know her? I feel like I should, if I cheated on you with her, but I don’t know anyone by that name. Who is she?” As soon as she’d said it, she regretted doing so. She could almost see Gail’s defence walls rise up.

“No one.”

“Alright,” said Holly. If Gail didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t press.

Gail was internally cursing herself. Half an hour ago, she’d been shouting accusations at the top of her lungs, for the whole street to hear, and now she couldn’t bring herself to tell Holly about Andy and Nick. Her anger had dissipated and now she felt too vulnerable to talk about it.

Something hit her in the face and there was Holly again, bringing her out of her reveries, giggling like a fool and running away from her backwards.

“Yeah, you run, nerd! I’m coming after you.”

“A girl chasing after me? That’s my dream come true.” Holly stuck out her tongue at her. She had the goofiest grin and slalomed through the trees to try and escape Gail’s revenge. Gail had picked up the garbage bag of paper and took out piece after piece to throw at Holly.

As she was running after Holly, through trees thoroughly covered in toilet paper in all colours, Gail realised that she hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

She felt free.

______________

 

Hours of talking and playing went by before they’d finally managed cleaning up the garden and started on the house itself. Holly had brought out a ladder to get access to the roof and the gutter. They’d carefully hauled themselves up on the roof and cleaned it up, even though Gail repeatedly stated they could just wait for the rain to ‘wash it down the drain’. Holly had just laughed and shaken her head before ushering Gail up the ladder and following right after her.

 ______________

 

It felt safer to talk when Holly was too busy watching her steps to be looking at her.

“She was my friend.”

“Oh.” Then silence. Holly carefully balanced herself so she could bend forward and grab some toilet paper that was stuck behind a roof tile. Gail looked at the other girl and then down at her feet. She was seated on the edge of the roof, with her legs dangling over it.

“Yeah.”

“And they really…”

“Yeah.” _They fucked each other and fucked me over at the same time._ “I’m just glad we hadn’t gotten to that point yet.”

“So you and Nick didn’t ever, like-”

“Gross! No!” Gail exclaimed.

“Well, at least that’s good, I think.”

Gail hummed in agreement. Holly carefully walked over to where Gail was seated and sat down next to her. She watched as Gail’s feet kicked at the air.

“So that’s why you decided to cover my house in toilet paper, huh?” She playfully bumped Gail’s shoulder with hers. “Where’d you even buy all these colours?”

“I don’t know,” Gail shrugged.  A tiny smile appeared. “I bought them at this crappy one dollar shop. I wanted to egg the house at first but then I remembered that is illegal and my parents would have me arrested.”

“Good thinking,” Holly smiled and patted her on her leg, before standing up again and moving towards the ladder. She looked over her shoulder and nudged her head.  “You coming? I still have to finish that movie.”

Gail scrambled up too and followed her down the ladder and into the house.

______________

 

Holly’s dad hadn’t asked any questions. Holly had just told him that her cheating on Gail was all a misunderstanding. She would try and tell him that Gail being her girlfriend was a misunderstanding too, but for now she’d just leave it be. This was the strangest way to make a new friend. It’d make for a good laugh when her mom and sister came back from their holiday. She’d asked if Gail could stay over to watch the movie with her now that things were cleared up between them. Her dad had just nodded in agreement and handed her the bowl of popcorn he’d made earlier before heading off to bed with a ‘Good night, kiddo. Don’t stay up too late.’

As soon as he’d left, Gail had grabbed hold of the bowl and made herself comfortable on the couch. Holly shook her head to herself and joined her. They sat together, watching the movie with the volume turned down, a blanket spread out over both their legs. And Gail had felt… Well, she felt welcome in this house. She felt at ease.  
It had never felt this way with Nick.

“Hey, nerd?”

“Hm?”

“Maybe keep your dad from opening your mailbox in the morning.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is harder than I thought. Please point out my mistakes to me. 
> 
> Also idk where I was going with this. Like, absolutely nothing is happening in this chapter. I kinda gave up on studying for the night and got carried away.

The door swung open less than ten seconds after she had rung the doorbell. A tiny girl with ponytails looked up at her, curiousity etched all over her face. Gail remembered Holly telling her about her little sister Olivia. Now she could see how much they looked like each other. Olivia had the same brown hair and the same brown eyes as Holly. She beamed when she saw Gail standing there. Funny that. Even their facial expressions were the same.

“Hello! How can I help you!” One difference: her voice was at least an octave higher than Holly’s.

“Hi Mini Holly. Were you already standing behind that door when I rang?” asked Gail suspicously.

“Yes, I was! I saw you walking to the door!” Olivia’s smile grew even bigger, revealing a gap where a tooth had fallen out. _God, this family was so chipper. Maybe their parents spiked their cornflakes in the morning. That must be it._

But Gail couldn’t bring herself to be rude to this child and say such things out loud. “Is Holly home?” she asked instead.

Olivia’s expression morphed in a pensive one. “Yes?” It sounded more as a question than an answer. “Why do you have flowers?”

Gail decided to try her luck. “They’re for your mom and dad, to say I’m sorry. Can I come in to see Holly, please?”

“Yes!” The little girl grabbed Gail’s hand and led – or more like dragged - her to the living room, where her mom was sitting at the table with her back towards them. The whole table was littered with papers and crayons, so that only a small area remained for their mom’s notes and her laptop. The woman turned around when they came in and Olivia handed her the flowers. “Mom, I have sorry flowers! We got them from…” She fell quiet and frowned. Then she turned to Gail and asked in what probably was intended to be a whisper. “What is your name?”

“Gail.”

Her mom looked up and locked her eyes on Gail. Now Gail knew whom the girls got their eyes from. “So, you’re Gail?” She lifted an eyebrow. “The same Gail that was here on Saturday?”

“Eh.” _Shit_. “Yes... I’m sorry about that.”

“Mhm.” The woman bit her lower lip to stiffle a laugh. “No harm done. I'm Kathryn. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

_Finally? Oh, right. She must still think that Holly was her girlfriend. Speaking of, where was she?_

“Liv, sweety, did you close the front door?”

The little girl shook her head. “I forgot.”

“That’s okay, sweety. You can do it now.”

Olivia ran back into the hallway as fast as her little feet could carry her.

Kathryn smiled at Gail. “Holly’s upstairs. Do you know where her room is?”

Gail nodded. She’d walked past it when they had taken a bathroom break during their impromptu movie night, and Holly had her use the toilet upstairs because the light in the downstairs toilet room wasn’t working.

“Okay. You can go up if you want. You can also stay down with Liv and me, but I guess you may not be into colouring.” They heard the front door slam shut.

Gail shrugged. “I don’t mind colouring.”

“Yeah.” Kathryn chuckled. “I heard about that. Most people use crayons instead of toilet paper though.”

Gail felt her face heat up.

Olivia ran back into the room and climbed on a chair opposite of her mother. Kathryn pushed the box of crayons closer to her before turning back to Gail.

“Don’t let her hear you say you like colouring. That would be a rookie mistake. You would never be able to leave this table again.”

“Right.” Gail nodded once and pointed towards the ceiling. “I’m gonna go.”

______________

 

Holly was lying on her back on her bed with her legs crossed. She was holding up a book in the air, her eyes rapidly moving back and forth as she was reading it. Gail couldn’t make out the title from where she swas standing. Holly tried to turn the page and almost dropped the book on her head. Gail grinned and knocked on the doorpost to announce her presence.

“Oh, hi!” Holly closed her book and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She put her hand through her hair to try and smoothe it down.

“Hi, nerd. Doing nerdy things again, I see?”

Holly smiled. “I have to work to keep my reputation, don’t I?”

“Not really, no. Seems to me like it all comes naturally to you.”

“Why, thanks.” Holly winked. She stood up and walked over to her desk to put her book down. “So, do you always turn up unnanounced? Or is it just me?”

“Kind of.” Gail pursed her lips. “It’s more fun that way.”

“What brings you here today?” Holly frowned and eyed Gail suspiciously. “You didn’t bring anything to throw at my house, right?”

Gail huffed. “No. Of course not. What kind of person would do such things?”

“Mhm.” Holly gestured for Gail to come in. When Gail wanted to close the bedroom door behind her, Holly stopped her. “My parents estabilished some new rules in this house. The door can’t be closed when it’s only us in this room.”

“Oh, but an orgy is okay?”

Holly’s eyebrows shot up.

_Whoops, think before you speak._

“Um, no?!”

“Too bad.” Gail walked over to Holly’s bed and sat down. “So you haven’t told your parents I’m _not_ your girlfriend yet? You do know that most people struggle to tell their parents that they _do_ _have_ a lesbian lover, don’t you?”

Holly looked at her sheepishly. “They looked so happy.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Gail had barely spent any time with Holly, but she already knew that’s something Holly did when she was nervous.

Gail let out a dramatic sigh. “I _am_ quite a catch.”

Holly snorted.

“And you’re not too bad either. You know… I guess I can play along with your schemes.” She nodded resignedly.

“You started this whole thing!”

“Hush, love. We only just got over our last fight.”

Holly threw a pencil at her. “You suck.”

Gail grinned. This was going to be fun.

______________

 

“I think,” said Gail suddenly, “that we need to get our stories straight.”

Holly cocked an eyebrow. “ _Straight_ , huh?”

Gail rolled her eyes at her. “Stop it with your puns. At this rate, my eyes are going to uscrew from their sockets and fall out before the night has ended.”

Holly stuck out her tongue. “Fine. But just so you know, that’s not how eyes works. They’re are not screwed in.”

Gail ignored her comment. “So, we’re not going to the same school so we can’t have met there. We don’t go to the same sports club so that’s out too. I say our story is that we met on tindr and I accidentally swiped right. You on the other hand, saw my picture and were immediately head over heels so imagine your joy when your phone buzzed and we had a match. It was love at first sight. For you at least.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, really. It’s very credible.”

“Mhm.”

“Yup.” Gail let the p pop. “Okay, nerdy-nerd. There’s two people in a relationship. Your turn.”

Holly thought it over for a minute. “We’ve been together for about two weeks. I tried tindr the day I came out to my parents. We matched. The day after, we went for pancakes for our first date. I showed you the most scientifically justified way to stack your toppings on your pancake, and you were so impressed that you asked me to be exclusive.”

“Oh wow.” Gail looked at her in disbelief. “No one is going to believe _that_.”

Holly looked smug. “We’ll see.”

______________

 

Talking to Holly was easy. They’d started out reading, Gail on the desk chair scrolling through her phone and Holly on her bed reading her book. That was until Gail had gone through her facebook feed for the sixth time and got bored to the point that she somehow discovered that Holly’s chair made a squeeky sound when you turned it to the left but not to the right. Inevitably, she insisted on demonstrating it to Holly. Seventy-three times to be exact. Holly had tried everything; ignoring her, pleading with her, threatening her, ignoring her again. Nothing helped. So she barged up to the chair, rolled it towards the bed and tipped it the way you would a barrow, and Gail ended up falling face-first on the bed. At least the chair didn’t make any more noises. Holly turned arount to wheel the chair back to her desk.

“Oi!” Gail wasn’t one to that go so easily, so she jumped up and caught Holly’s sleeve. She pulled her down so Holly fell too.

Gail got up and bolted to the other side of the room, where she ducked behind Holly’s closet. Her eyes roamed the room for ammunition. Holly followed her example and sought cover behind her bed. They ended up throwing whatever unbreakable objects they could find at each other – Holly started out having an advantage since all her plush toys were stored nearby. At one point, Gail decided to storm Holly’s makeshift fort and they had ended up switching places, with Holly behind the closet and Gail behind the bed, hogging everything Holly threw her way. They’d both been hit with teddybears and cushions more times than they could count. Only once had Holly’s father checked up on them, but he’d scampered away when a stray stuffed dinosaur came his way.

“Surrender!” Holly demanded when she was out of plush toys.

“Never!” Gail had moved from behind the bed to behind the desk, where it was harder for Holly to hit her and not knock down her computer and whatever else was on her desk.

Then Gail started to laugh. “Oh, come on! You nerd!”

Holly was holding up one of her white tees attached to a wooden hanger, as an imitation of a white flag. “Eh, if you can’t beat them, join them.” She stood up and walked over to Gail. “Peace?”

Gail agreed. “Peace. Just let it be clear that _I_ won.”

“Whatever you say, honey.” Holly stretched out her hand and helped Gail stand.

They both ended up stretched out on Holly’s bed, talking about everything and nothing. Gail was on her back, hands behind her head. Holly was on her side facing Gail. That way it was easier to poke Gail in the ribs every time she said something semi-insulting, which was quite often.

Hours had gone by since Gail arrived. It had been fun, getting to know each other a little better and building their friendship. She could get used to this.

“Holly!” came a voice from downstairs.

They jumped up, startled. Holly hopped off the bed and walked to the open door. “Yes, dad?” she shouted back.

“Is Gail staying for dinner?”

She looked at Gail, who just looked back and shrugged. Then her stomach decided to butt in and grumbled loudly.

“Yeah. She is,’ Holly decided for her.

“Okay. It’s almost ready. Finish up what you’re doing and come downstairs, please.”

“Okay, dad.” She looked at Gail, a smug smile playing on her lips. “Looks like you’re about to join your first family dinner.”

Gail groaned. Holly grinned. This was going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some tidbits:
> 
> 1\. I had to google the English translation for tidbits.  
> 2\. Olivia is named after Olivia Wilde.  
> 3\. I do not have some weird infatuation with toilets and/or bathroom accessories. I swear.  
> 4\. I was talking about this with my gf and typed “sexscenes”. Autocorrect turned it into “sexscones”. I’m too afraid to google if that’s actually a thing.  
> 5\. I should ask my friend to be my beta. She’s very smart and actually speaks English. And she used to be in this fandom. Though she’d probably change every ou to u. Silly Americans.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they decide that they might need to break up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m about to be in a plane for 28.5 hours. Or more accurately, three consecutive planes. My friend is totally confused as to why my journey could possibly take that long because “that’s more than a whole day!” and “the time difference is less than that so if your plane would just ascend and keep floating there, let the world rotate underneath you and then descend, it wouldn’t take that long”. I explained it to her using Pythagoras’ theory. I feel like Holly would have been proud of me.
> 
> @ Golly4eva: I used (part of) your idea! Thanks :)

Dinner went fine. Olivia demanded Gail sat next to her, so that’s where the blonde was. She would deny it if anyone asked her, but she had a hard time saying no to children – definitely if they came with big, brown puppy-eyes. Holly was seated across from them, next to her father. Kathryn was at the head of the table, so she could help Olivia if necessary. Not that the girl would let her. Being seated next to a six year old had it's advantages, Gail soon discovered. She easily roped Olivia into eating her cucumber slices and stealthily tranferred them to her plate. Gail was convinced Holly had noticed, but she hadn’t commented on their little scheme.

“This is delicious, you really are a great cook, honey.”

“Thanks, love,” said Jeff. He kissed his wife on the cheek.

“Would you like seconds, Gail?”

Gail chewed her mouthful as fast as she could and swallowed it down. “Yes, please.” She handed her plate to Holly’s dad who started putting scoopsful of food on it until it resembled a miniature mountain.

“Dad, her stomach isn’t a black hole.”

“Oi, speak for yourself.” Gail stuck out her tongue. “Thank you, Jeff.”

“You’re welcome.” He took his wife’s plate to put some more food on there too.

“So, Gail…”

_Oh oh. Here it came. The Great Interrogation. ___

____

____

“… you really don’t like cucumber, do you?”

 _Crisis averted._ “Oh. I had hoped you hadn’t caught on to that.”

Holly’s dad grinned. “You can’t fool us that easily. Nothing gets past the Stewarts.”

Gail and Holly exchanged a look.

“Gail?” Olivia pulled at her sleeve, making her bend towards her.

“Yes, little one?”

“Why are you Holly and you girlfriends?”

Gail started fidgetting. _Guess_ _I cried victory too soon._

Jeff must have noticed how uncomfortable Gail was, because he immediately intervened. “Well, honey, sometimes when two people love each other very much… Or three people… Or sometimes even four!” He turned to his wife and lowered his voice. “Help me out here, love. I think I’m digging a hole for myself here.”

Kathryn smiled at him, shaking her head in disbelief. “You are terrible sometimes.” She kissed his cheek. “But I love you.”

______________

 

After dinner - which included Kathryn simply explaining to Olivia that Gail and Holly were girlfriends because they liked each other, which Olivia readily accepted, and Gail shoving food into her face to avoid having to talk – Holly tricked Gail into helping her clear the table and put everything in the dishwasher. Holly told her parents to leave the cleaning up to them and to go watch a movie with Olivia, who practically beamed at the proposition. Olivia ran over to their dvd collection and started reading all the titles out loud, effectively silencing her parents’ protests.

Jeff picked his favourite dvd and put in in the dvd player. Gail heard him sass Olivia when she told him that it was not fair that he got to pick and not her. “I’m your dad. I’m allowed to do this.”

“ _But dad!_ ”

He stuck out his tongue at her. “Too late, it’s already playing!” He picked Olivia up, swirled her around and put her down on the couch next to her mother.

Then Olivia started giggling. “Dad!”

“Daughter?”

She pointed at the screen. “It’s the wrong dvd!”

Jeff turned around so he too could see what was going on. He let his mouth fall open in mock despair. “Did you put the dvd’s in the wrong cases _again_?”

“Yes!” She giggled even lauder. “Because I knew you would cheat!”

He crossed his arms and put his nose in the air. “I can still press stop and change it.”

“No, you can’t,” intervened Kathryn. “You’re too late. It’s already playing.”

“And it’s my fave-rite!” added Olivia happily.

Jeff sighed exaggeratedly before plopping down on the couch as well. “I can’t _ever_ win from you ladies.”

Olivia giggled and wriggled herself onto his lap. Kathryn put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his girls and pulled them closer, before kissing them on the forehead.

Gail looked at them, feeling wistful. She envied the Stewarts a little. Her family would never curl up against each other on the sofa. Her mom preferred them to be a stoic poster family. Hugs meant wrinkling clothes so they were a rare thing at her’s.

Behind her, Holly put the last plate away and closed the dishwasher. “Wanna play a game?”

“Yeah,” Gail agreed, happy that Holly had shaken her out of her reveries.

They moved to the table. Holly picked out a board game and began setting it up.

The next pixar short film started playing. Gail glanced at the television screen.

Holly looked up at her and followed her gaze. “You can join them if you want.”

Gail turned her attention back to Holly. “Nah. I’m okay. I’ve already seen it.” She shrugged. “Besides, I enjoy playing with you.”

______________

 

By the time the clock struck half past eight, Olivia had already been put to bed, Holly had won the game, and Gail announced she should head home. No matter how much she liked being at the Stewart’s home, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome. Jeff had offered to drive her, but Gail declined, claiming she’d make it home before it was dark. Jeff let her, on the condition that she’d send Holly a text as soon as she arrived home.

Holly walked her out. They stopped at the front door, where Gail put on her leather jacket. It was still getting quite chilly in the evening.

“I’m glad you came by. And, um, maybe you can let me know a bit in advance next time you come around?”

“Am I still welcome? Even after the cucumber incident?”

“You’re always welcome.” Holly cocked her head to the side. “You know, Gail, I can’t believe it’s only been a few days since I’ve known you.”

“Already getting bored of me, are you?”

“No. Seriously. I’m glad we met.” Holly gave her a lopsided smile. “Maybe I should send a thank you card to Nick.”

Gail huffed. “Please don’t. Send it to the inventor of autocorrect instead, or to the idiot that decided to give every street a similar name."

Gail pulled the cap of her hoodie over her head. She put her hands in her pockets and awkwardly stood there, staring at Holly’s feet. “I gotta go. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“Any time, Gail.”

Gail nodded. Then she turned around and dissapeared into the night.

______________

 

Gail was walking the increasingly familiar path from Holly’s to her house. She was almost home, hoping to arrive there by nine. Thoughts were running through her head, leaving her feet to walk the way home on muscle memory. _If Holly were here, she’d say that that was not how muscle memory worked. She’s such a nerd._ She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She retrieved it from her pocket and saw that it was Holly. Speaking of the devil. Or thinking, or whatever. She smiled.

“Miss me already?”

“Gail.” Holly sounded agitated.

Gail’s blood ran cold. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No. Yes. Maybe?” Holly sighed. “After you left, dad mentioned how good we seemed together and I just… I feel so guilty lying to them. Then mom asked me some questions about how tindr works and I freaked. Can we… Can we stop?”

“Oh my god, Holly. Are you already breaking up with me? _Over the phone_?”

Holly chuckled. “Sorry.”

Gail let out a dramatic sigh. “This is my shortest relationship _ever._ ”

“This is my _only_ relationship ever.”

Gail huffed. “You liar. You told me you dated Tim.”

“That was in kindergarten!”

“And you dated Alice too, because Tim couldn’t choose between the two of you so you decided you should all date each other. So very progressive of you.” She paused. “In hindsight, it might just have been your lesbianism surfacing quite early.”

That earned her a laugh. “Oh, fuck off.” But Holly’s voice sounded small when she continued. “Are we still good?”

“Yeah, of course we are.” Gail hesitated. “Do we still get to pretend that we’re friends?”

“We _are_ friends.”

Gail smiled. Lucky that Holly couldn’t see her now. “Yeah, nerd. Whatever you say.”

______________

 

When Gail hung up, Holly let herself fall backwards on her bed. That wasn’t too bad for a first relationship, was it? Even when it only consisted of talking and hand holding and, well, other things that friends would do. Apart from the hand holding maybe. Wasn’t your partner also being your friend an important thing in a relationship anyway? But it didn’t matter, they did have to fake break up. Holly sighed.

“Everything okay, Holls?” Her dad peeked his head in. He’d just checked up on Olivia and was on his way back to the living room when he’d heard her.

“Yeah.” Holly sat up. “You can come in if you want.”

“I must say, I like that girl of yours. Even if she’s not the best at making first impressions.” He walked over to her and sat down beside her.

“She brought flowers this time. You must admit that she’s trying her best.”

Jeff chuckled and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “She did, and I do. But seriously, I’m glad we got to meet her properly tonight.” He smiled at her, one of his warm dad-smiles that used to always make her feel better. “Like I said before, it seems like you’ve got something good going on.”

“Yeah... About that... Dad, can I talk to you and mom?”

______________

 

Gail was simultaneously juggling her bag and her phone and twisting her key in the lock. She closed the door behind her and moved into the living room, trying not to drop anything she was holding. That’s why she didn’t notice the person seated there at first. When their eyes met, she froze. It felt like all her nerves at once had decided to stop firing off signals to her limbs.

Her voice was devoid of any warmth when she finally spoke. “What are you doing here?”

______________

 

Holly was in the kitchen. She didn’t know how to proceed with this. If only she had her phone on her, then she might have been able to google stuff. But she’d only realised she’d left it on the coffee table after she had heard it go off a few times. _Oh well, not like the internet would give her any useful tips. There probably weren’t any google results for ‘how to tell my parents my lesbian lover isn’t actually my lover’ anyway._ She’d been trying to delay that particular conversation by rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen, pretending she was looking for something. Holly knew her parents knew she was stalling. They were being nice about it though, just talking quietly amongst themselves and waiting for their daughter to come to them. They were patient with this like they were with everything else concering their daughters. And Holly felt it was wrong to lead them on, to betray their love and trust like that. That’s why she had called Gail before, wasn’t it? She took a deep breath and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch across from the one her parents sat on.

“Mom. Dad. I need to tell you something.” She stopped fiddling with her hands as soon as she noticed that she was doing it. She took another deep breath and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Please don’t be mad.”

“Holly… You do remember that we already know you’re gay, right?” Her dad tried to break the tension. “Do we need to give you the sex talk? Are you pregnant?”

“Oh my god, no!” Holly looked mortified. “You already did that when I was six. And a second time when I turned twelve. Thanks for _that_ birthday by the way.”

Holly’s dad grinned. “Just preparing you for your eighteenth birthday, honey.” Then he turned serious again. “You know you can tell us anything, right? Whatever it is.”

Holly’s phone started buzzing again.

Kathryn eyed her phone. “Maybe you should pick that up first. It has gone off a few times already. I think someone really needs you.”

Holly reached for the offending object.

She immediately recognised the voice on the other end. “Holly? I need you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. You probably already know what the next chapter is going to bring. I am nothing if not predictable.
> 
> PS: My friend saw this. Say bye to 'ou' and hi to 'o'!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which too many people overhear too many things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed +/- 700 words straight from the show. That's the only straight part about this story, probably. Jk. There's also Nick and his sexcapades. Hm.
> 
> There's also a line from another show I once binged in between two uni exams. Good times.

Gail stood by the open living room door, prepared to flee if necessary.  “Seriously. _What_ _are you doing here_?”

Andy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah. Just too bad that I don’t want to talk to you.” Gail turned around, about to leave.

“Please, Gail, just hear me out, okay?” Andy sounded desperate.

Gail turned to face Andy again. Anger was written all over her face. “And why exactly,” she snarled, “should I do that?”

“It’s about me and Nick.”

“You and Nick...”

“Yes.” Andy was so eager to explain to Gail why she was here, so eager to make amends. But Gail wasn’t finished speaking.

“...slept together.”

Andy looked confused and didn’t answer immediately. “Yes.”

“I already knew that.”

“What do you mean, you knew?” Andy almost sounded offended. “So this whole time that I’ve been trying to tell you, you’ve just been-“

“Judging you? Yeah.” Gail shrugged.

Andy swallowed. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Well I mean, I could…” Gail shrugged. “I could cry.” She looked Andy in the eyes and smiled icily. “Would you like me to cry?”

“No.” Andy looked so sad. Like a kicked puppy. Only Gail liked puppies heaps better than her former friend.

“Or I could tell you how right I think you and Nick are for each other, and then I could gag on my own words. I don’t know. It just all depends on what you were _expecting_.” The emotions her voice carried were hard to distinguish. Anger, definitely. Disappointment as well. Hurt, too, and betrayal. And so many more. And all she could do, was feel it.

But Andy was oblivious to Gail’s feelings, too focused on her own thoughts. “I wasn’t really expecting anything. Well…other than hoping that maybe we could talk about how you feel about it?” _Oh, the irony_.

“No. He and I are over. You can have him. I don’t want to see either of you.” Gail made a dismissive gesture.

“Gail…”

“Fuck off, Andy.”

“But…”

Gail pointed at the door. “Get out. Just move it.”

“Gail, we’re gonna have to talk about this.”

They didn’t. Gail was over it. She didn’t want to think about Nick and Andy, let alone talk about it. “I said beat it.”

“Gail, please. We’re friends.”

“Funny--that’s what I thought, too, before you decided to put your Girl Scout skills in action and climb my boyfriend. You should have stuck to trees.” With that, Gail walked out of the room.

“Gail!” Andy called out after her.

Gail ignored her and walked on. As soon as she got into the hallway, she reached for her phone. She started dialling as she walked up the stairs.

No answer. _Fuck._

She tried calling again, and again, and again. Still no answer. _What was Holly up to? She said she didn’t have any plans tonight. Why isn’t she picking up?_

 _Umpteenth time is a charm_. “Holly? I need you.” Gail didn’t even know she could sound so vulnerable.

But Holly, sweet Holly, was there for her, no questions asked. “Text me your address and I’ll be on my way.”

“Thank you. I’m so glad to have someone like you in my life.” Gail turned around and there was Andy again, hovering near her door. _Girl Scout using her pathfinder skills to stalk her. Who would have thought?_

“Who was that?” asked Andy.

Gail continued to ignore her.

“Gail, do you have a new boyfriend?”

 _For fuck’s sake. This girl was annoying._ “I didn’t know that was your business.”

“You do.” Andy sounded shocked.

Gail rolled her eyes at her. “Explain to me then, please, Andy, how Holly could possibly be my boyfriend?”

Andy’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “What?”

“Fuck off, Andrea.” Gail closed the door in her face. _That felt good._

______________

 

Unfortunately, she had to open that door again when the doorbell rang. She rushed past Andy and nearly ran to the door.

“Are you okay?” Holly looked concerned.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Gail sighed. “Thanks for coming. I hope I didn’t interrupt your plans for the evening.”

“Eh. I was just about to talk to my parents. I didn’t have the chance to tell them yet, so… you’re, um, kinda still my girlfriend?”

“Oh.” Gail nodded, more to herself than to Holly. She opened her mouth to elaborate.

But there was Andy interrupting again. “Gail is your girlfriend?” Holly could almost see a thundery cloud forming above Gail’s head. She gathered Gail mustn’t like this girl.

“Girl Scout’s here,” whispered Gail, still facing Holly. “’S why I called you. Wants to talk about her and Nick.”

So, Holly intervened. She looked up from Gail to Andy. “Yes,” she said. “She is.”

Gail took a deep breath, not taking her eyes off of Holly. Sweet Holly, who tried to help her, even if it meant keeping up this lie a little longer. “Andy. _Why_ are you still here.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Gravy. Thanks for your concern.”

“Please stop acting like you’re okay about me and Nick.”

“Andy, I’m fine.”

Andy looked relieved. “So now what, we have your blessing?”

“Oh, my blessing?” Gail shook her head. “No, you don’t have my blessing. You broke the code, Andy. And what’s so great about it is that this is your punishment. _You_ are the bad guy.” She smiled sardonically. It felt too good to hurt Andy, like Andy had hurt her. Maybe this wasn’t the right way to deal with this situation, but Gail couldn’t stop. “You, Miss perfect never-hurt-a-fly McNally, are the bad guy.” She scoffed. “Look at you. It’s just killing you.” She looked at Holly, her face softening as she did so. “If you’ll excuse me, my girlfriend is waiting for me.”

______________

 

Had this been a badly written comedy, even in that scenario Gail wouldn’t have thought it possible that right at that moment, the front door would open behind her and her family would walk in. Alas, whomever wrote the script was obviously in the mood to mess with her for a bit longer, so there they were. All the Pecks at once.

“Your what?” asked her brother.

“Gail. What is this supposed to mean?” asked her mother, followed by “Bill, say something.”

“Um?” asked her father.

Gail closed her eyes and pinched her nose. _This can’t be real._

“Hello. I’m Bill.” Her father held out his hand to Holly. _Probably not what Elaine meant._

Holly shook it. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Holly Stewart.”

At that, her mother perked up. If she’d been a predator, she would have pricked up her ears like Gail imagined Anubis’ would before dragging a corpse to the underworld. Well, maybe that wasn’t what she was taught in her mythology class. She couldn’t remember. But the sentiment felt right.

“Holly Stewart?”

“Um, yes.”

Elaine, Gail swore to god, _smiled_ at that. “Related to Georges Stewart-Brown?”

“Yes.” Holly looked more and more uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other.

Elaine looked impressed. _That was it._ “If you’ll excuse us, Holly and I have somewhere else to be.” Gail took Holly by the hand and led her upstairs. To her surprise, Elaine didn’t even attempt to stop them. What was even stranger, was that she looked at the both of them like a kid looks at their presents underneath the Christmas tree.

______________

 

Holly was slowly taking in Gail’s bedroom. It was very atypical for a teenager. White walls, a wooden floor and matching furniture. There was only a single picture on the walls. On closer look, Holly saw it was a family portrait of the Peck family. The were only two things that Holly felt were personal. The first were some of Gail’s clothes thrown over a chair. The second was Gail’s bookcase. If those hadn’t been there, the room could have been anyone’s. This was definitely not a cozy room. She didn’t understand how Gail would feel at home in there.

Gail was watching Holly move about the room, taking it all in. She could guess her thoughts with ease. “This is Elaine’s work.”

“Huh?”

Gail gestured around the room. “The white, clean look. The showroom model vibe.”

“It is quite impersonal,” Holly agreed.

“Yeah, but I found a way to rebel against the Motherlord.” Gail walked towards her wardrobe and opened the doors. “Look.”

The inside of the closet door was covered in photographs. Most of them pictured Gail and her brother. There were a few of her friends, some of family members – the blonde and ginger hair seemed indeed a genetic trait – and one of Gail holding…a pair of gerbils?

Gail saw Holly looking at that picture. “They were called Archie and Steve Jr.. Mother hated them, which made me love them even more.” She walked over to Holly. “She ordered me to get rid of them.”

“That’s…sad.”

“It’s alright. I gave them to this little boy, and he loves them. Teaches them tricks and stuff. Sends me pictures sometimes to keep me updated. Wanna see?”

“Yeah, of course. But Gail, don’t you want to talk about what happened before?”

Gail stiffened up. She’d tried to avoid this conversation, even if she knew they needed to talk. “Not really...but I owe you an explanation.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”

But Gail shook her head. “I do. I owe you that much.”

Holly looked at her softly. “Gail…”

“No, I do want to tell you. I need to.”

So that’s what Gail did. They sat down and Gail started telling Holly about her friendship with Andy, about her relationship with Nick. How hurt she felt when she found out that her friend and her boyfriend slept together. How she hated herself for not seeing it coming, even though all the signs were there, but she had kept on ignoring them. About not wanting to see Nick and not knowing if she could ever forgive Andy. Ignoring both of their texts and calls, which worked up until tonight, when Andy decided to come by in person.

Holly looked pensive. She was quiet for a while, before she finally commented. “Seems to me you’re more annoyed with Andy than with Nick.”

“Maybe.” Gail thought about that. “No, you’re right. I am. Nick is easily replaceable. Andy’s not.”

Holly softly squeezed Gail’s arm. They sat wordlessly next to each other, until Gail couldn’t bear the silence anymore and stood up.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

______________

 

Gail held her wrists under the cold tap water, trying to cool down a bit. She didn’t know why she’d run away from Holly. Holly had done nothing wrong. On the contrary: she was there for her when Gail needed her, she stood by Gail during this shitstorm, and she kept silently telling Gail that she was worth it. Holly was a good person, and Gail didn’t want to ruin that.

Gail sighed and opened the bathroom door.

“Gail, we need to talk.”

After an evening like the one tonight, Gail didn’t feel like talking to her mother. But she didn’t want another argument either, so she complied.

“What did you want to talk about, mother?”

“This girlfriend of yours.” Her mother looked pensive. “She’s from a good family. I feel she might have a good influence on you.”

Gail was confused. She hadn’t expected that. She had expected Elaine to be angry with her, to forbid her ever seeing Holly again. Not this.

But Elaine was not done yet. “For as long as you can keep her by your side of course. We’ll see how long that is. Because honestly, Gail, I don’t know if you can keep her interest for much longer if you insist on slacking like you do now. At least Holly is a hard worker.”

Gail was used to Elaine telling her she wasn’t hard-working enough, that she wasn’t Peck-worthy like her brother and her cousins were. She was used to Elaine telling her – in various ways, not always overt – that she was a disappointment. But hearing her voice all of Gail’s fears out loud, that hit deep. And the worst part was that she couldn’t tune her out this time, like she normally would. No, this time Gail heard Elaine’s complaints, because they put into words all the thoughts Gail had been having ever since she met Holly.

“You need to get yourself together.” With that, Elaine left.

_She’s right. I don’t know why someone like Holly would want to spend time with me, why she wants to be around me. Maybe we should come clean. Tell the world that we’re not a couple. They must be wondering why Holly would want to be with someone like me. They should know they’re right._

Gail’s door opened behind her.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but what the heck, Gail.” Holly took Gail by the hand and led her back inside. Gail looked at the ground, so she wouldn’t have to look Holly in the eye as she’d tell her that Elaine was right. That Gail didn’t deserve someone like Holly in her life. “Your mom is such a… such a…”

“Bitch?” Gail supplied, barely audible.

“Yes!” Gail was in awe. She’d underestimated Holly. She hadn’t believed that anyone could be that supportive of her. And on top of that, angry Holly was quite a sight. “I hate cursing, but yes! She is. And we are going to prove her wrong.” Gail looked up. She saw defiance in Holly’s eyes. “Any reason not to fake ‘us’ is shelved for now. Let’s fake the hell out of this relationship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my brand new beta curious-circumstances and her many improvements to this story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whipped and wearing each other clothes now. 
> 
> I'm not happy with this one but it's leading somewhere so it'll have to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a) I've had it with uni. It's so tiresome.  
> b) Johanna is a cutie*

The message was clear. ‘ _ Playdate at 11. Be there or be square!’ _

Gail texted back  _ ‘Nerd, not 2B rude, but we r a little 2 old 4 playdates…’ quickly followed by ‘A playdate of all things??’ and ‘Also, who even texts in full sentences any more?’ _

_ ‘You just did.’ _

Okay. That was fair.  _ ‘Fine. I’ll be there.’ _

_ ‘Great! Please bring some of these dinosaur cookies you brought back from Europe?’ _

_ ‘Shove it, nerd. They’re mine.’ _

_ ‘I’ll shove them in my mouth ;-)’ _

______________

“Mother wants me to invite you over for dinner,” Gail announced as soon as Holly opened the door. “She was quite amandant.” Gail stepped into the house and began taking off her coat. “I think you should decline. You don’t want to get involved with the Pecks.”

“I don’t? I thought I already was involved with a Peck.” Holly grinned. “In fact, this particular Peck is so whipped that she showed up at my house for a  _ playdate _ , of all things.”

“I am  _ not _ whipped,” huffed Gail.

“You are.”

“Am not.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Either way, declining is the best option. I wouldn’t come to these family dinners either, if I had a choice.”

“Surely you don’t mean that.”

“I kind of do.”

“It’s that bad?”

“Yes! We eat horrible food. We have even worse conversations,” Gail summed up, counting the items on her fingers. “My brother is an idiot and he won’t ever shut up. Mother keeps trying to interrogate Steve and me. I think my father counts the seconds until dinner is over so he can go back to whichever project he’s working on in his shed. I could go on.” [ML1]   She sighed. “And the worst part is that they will  _ never _ make your favourite food.  _ Ever. _ ” She reached for her bag. “Which reminds me, I brought you something.” Gail handed her the cookies.

“You are  _ so _ whipped,” Holly laughed, before entering the living room.

“Am not,” muttered Gail under her breath.

“And I’m coming to the dinner,” Holly stated.

______________

Inside the living room, it looked like a science fair was taking place. There were books about rockets spread all over the table, and on Holly’s laptop there was a page opened on how to build your own rocket and how to launch it. Olivia and two other kids – whom Gail assumed were her friends – were seated at the table and enthusiastically colouring pieces of paper and cardboard tubes.

“Does the nerd gene run in the family?” Gail wondered out loud, stroking her chin. “Is it nature or is it nurture? I’m undecided. Ooh, maybe it’s infectious?”

Holly swatted her on the arm. “For someone always accusing my entire family of nerdism, you sure are quite the nerd yourself.”

“Nah.” Gail shrugged. “I’m just assimilating. Trying to lay low for my anthropology experiment. See, I’m actually writing a paper on weird families.” She frowned. “Apart from my own that is.”

Holly pushed her towards the table. “Shut up, sit down and play.”

“Yes, boss.” Gail saluted. “Guess we’ve decided on who’s wearing the pants in this relationship.”

Holly stuck out her tongue and handed Gail some crayons. “Please shut your big mouth and help these little people.”

Gail soon found out that Noor – the one sporting sunglasses and lipstick and heaps of diva allures – would chat everyone’s ear off. Jack, on the other hand, was much quieter and was building his rocket in relative silence, sticking out his tongue in concentration. So far, Noor had updated her on her entire family history and was now talking about her boyfriend.

“We are boyfriend and girlfriend because he asked me. And he has blue eyes and he has brown hair.” She looked up at Gail. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Gail shook her head. “I don’t.”

“Well, you could have one.”

“How about I stay away from boyfriends and help you colour your rocket instead?”

But even with Gail’s help, Noor was still way behind Jack and Olivia. And Gail had coloured two pieces of paper and a cardboard tube before Noor even coloured half of hers. So Gail decided she needed to speed things up.

“What about we make this a game. See who can finish a cardboard tube first, huh? What do you say.”

Noor readily agreed. “Yes! And the winner gets a prize! And the prize can be a boyfriend!”

Gail sighed. “Right.”

Noor was talking about her boyfriend again, and paying way too little attention to her colouring. Lucky for Gail, Olivia chimed in so Gail felt it was safe enough to not listen to the little girl talk anymore. She tuned out and watched Holly help Jack. But then her attention was drawn back to the two little girls.

“No, that’s not true,” Olivia said. “A boy can have a boyfriend too, and a girl can have a girlfriend. They’re a ho-mo-sex-u-al. Sex, eh! But don’t tell my mom I said that!”

Gail tried her best to hold back her laughter, but when she looked at Holly, she saw that the other girl heard, too, and she couldn’t wipe the smirk off her face. “Oh, nerd  _ definitely _ runs in the family.”

______________

With a little help from both Holly and Gail, the three rockets were finished an hour before the parents were due to pick up their kids. Holly and Gail had helped them glue the cardboard tubes and the paper wings to plastic bottles to make them look like rockets. They took the children and their rockets outside, and filled the bottles with water. Holly had brought out a foot pump and together, they positioned the rockets to launch. Holly pumped air in the bottle until the pressure was so high that the rocket flew over the grass and only stopped several meters further. Olivia, Jack, and Noor cheered.

“Again!”

“Okay,” Holly agreed. “Liv, you can put your rocket on the launchpad now.”

Liv did what she was told, and then ran back to Gail and the others, a safe distance away from Holly and the rocket. Holly adjusted the pump so she could blow air into the rocket. This time, when Holly started pumping, the rocket shot straight up in the air, water spilling out of it as it climbed higher and higher into the sky. Even Gail had to admit she was impressed. The five of them were soaked due to them filling the bottles over and over and water spilling out of them as they shot into the air. They launched the three rockets one after the other again and again, until the doorbell rang, and Jack’s parents came to pick him and Noor up. They would drop Noor off at her’s, since she lived nearby them.

The children showed off their rockets to Jack’s parents and begged Holly to launch another rocket for Jack’s parents to see. Noor asked to film it so her parents could see it too.

“Sure, Noor.” Gail pulled her phone out of her pocket to record the next launching, and noticed that she had a couple of unread messages. She read one of them and then deleted the entire thread. Gail opened the camera app and shooed the children into the frame.

Holly did her best to make this last launch as spectacular as possible.

______________

After Jack’s parents left, Holly took Olivia upstairs to change their clothes. She told Gail to look in her closet and find herself some dry clothes to wear. Gail switched her wet and cold t-shirt and sweater for a warm sweater of Holly’s. She was laying on Holly’s bed and reading the titles of the books on her desk.

Holly knocked on the door. “Hey, Gail. I put on a movie for Olivia, and we noticed your phone kept lighting up with messages…I think they’re from Andy.” She stepped inside and handed the phone to Gail.

Gail tossed her phone aside. “Yeah, I know. Just ignore them.”

Holly sat down next to Gail. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine.”

Holly gave her a look that conveyed that she obviously didn’t believe her, but that she was willing to let it slide. “Is there a reason that you’re not reading her messages?”

Gail sighed. There was a long pause before she answered. “I think I’m just scared that if I respond, she’ll want to talk more and more and I will just get hurt again.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.”

“It’s just…Andy and I have been friends for ages. Her dad is a police officer, like my parents, and we—” Gail rubbed her forehead in frustration. “That created a bond, you know? We’ve had our fights in the past, but I really thought she and I would be friends forever and I feel that now all of that is gone.”

“Do you think you could ever be friends again?”

Gail stared at the ceiling, contemplating how to answer. “I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“I guess I wasn’t worth it for her.”

Holly looked at her sadly, not knowing what to say. She squeezed Gail’s leg for comfort.

They stayed there for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. The silence was only broken by the occasional sounds from elsewhere in and around the house. A louder part of the movie, Olivia laughing. The sound of the heater. Birds fighting outside and cars driving by.

_ Maybe _ , Gail thought _ , maybe this wasn’t all bad _ . After all, if Andy and Nick hadn’t done anything, she and Holly never would have met. And maybe getting to know Holly was worth it. They’d only known each other for a short while, but being around Holly was easy. She didn’t seem to mind Gail’s snark or her teasing. She either let it slide off of her or threw it right back at her. She had stood by Gail and was prepared to stand up to Elaine. She was willing to come to the stupid family dinner even though Gail had warned her about it. She wanted to be Gail’s friend, wanted to spend time with her, wanted to get to know her. Holly was a good person, and she wanted to have Gail in her life. She made Gail start to feel like maybe she was a good person, too, instead of the outcast or failure Gail often felt she was. Holly was a good person. Gail felt she was already one of the best friends she has ever had. And Gail didn’t know if that meant that most of her other friends were utter crap or that Holly was just the best thing anyone could have happen to them. And maybe, given the good things that had entered her life lately, maybe this wasn’t all bad.

Gail sat up and patted Holly’s shoulder. “Stop looking so crestfallen, nerd. I have other and better friends. I actually have some that I’d like you to meet sometime.”

“Aw, Gail.” Holly smiled her crooked smile. “You want me to meet your friends? You are so _ whipped. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*when she's not laughing at me)
> 
> So much gratitude for curious-circumstances who puts up with all of my mistakes.
> 
> Noor is a real person, lipstick and sunglasses included. She's probably about thirteen or fourteen years old now. The convo they're having happened IRL when Noor was four or five and I worked with a group of kids. She did not stop talking even for a second. I think 96% of her rocket was made by me.
> 
> I wrote something else that might be considered smut. Except I deleted all the smut so idk how to call what's left?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a Peck Family dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gravity is a stupid thing. Makes your boobs sag and makes you fall of your bike.
> 
> I had some OSCE's which is why this took so long. Shoutout for my super fast, super sweet beta curious-circumstances.

“ _We can still sneak away_ ,” whispered Gail. “ _It’s not too late yet_.”

“ _First of all, we are_ at _the dinner table_.” Holly whispered back. “ _Second, your mom would definitely notice. And third, we are_ not _sneaking out_.”

Gail huffed. “ _You are such a funsponge_.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, mother.”

Holly smiled at Elaine innocently.

Elaine eyed them suspiciously before putting a salad bowl in front of them. If you asked Gail, Elaine had only known about Holly and Gail for way too short of a time before she somehow managed to rope Gail into asking Holly to join their family dinner. Even though Gail warned her about the dinners and told her she should bail, Holly was too polite to decline. Or, as Holly had put it, it was the perfect opportunity to convince Gail’s family that the two of them were a real couple. So here they were. _And now stupid Holly was ignoring all her pleas to run. Ugh._

Elaine put another salad on the table and sat down at the round table. Gail and Holly were seated on one side of the table with Steve and Bill opposite of them.

Ever since she and Holly entered the house, Gail had been waiting for the interrogation to start. So far, no one was making any attempts to do so. Steve started dishing out salad and Bill cut off slices of meat for everyone. Elaine made it her job to serve some potatoes. Holly noticed that Gail’s portion wasn’t nearly as big as anyone else's.

When everyone’s plates were full, they started eating. For an uncomfortably long time, only the sounds of cutlery touching plates could be heard. Steve finally broke the awkward silence.

“So, where did the two of you meet?” asked Steve.

The girls looked at each other. “Umm, on Tinder?”

“That’s…” Elaine's mouth twitched. “Modern,” she decided.

“I like it,” said Bill. “It shows that technology can lead to all kinds of things.”

“Yes,” Gail chimed in. “If it wasn’t for technology, Holly and I never would have met.”

“Technology is flawless—” Bill started.

“ _I wouldn’t call it flawless_ ,” whispered Gail to Holly.

“ _Stop complaining_.” Holly poked Gail in her side. “ _We would never have met if it was._ ”

Gail stuck out her tongue and grinned.

“—like for example, today at work. Bobby showed me that, using my computer, I can—”

“ _You’d have been devastated about that, wouldn’t you?”_

Holly poked Gail again, a little harder this time.

“— so like I said, technology is flawless. Wouldn’t you agree, Holly?” Bill smiled at her expectantly.

While Gail was glad that Bill was actually trying to involve her girlfriend – well, fake girlfriend – in the conversation, Holly hadn’t been paying attention to what he was saying and was looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“Yes, of course.”

And just like that, Holly got drawn into a conversation with Bill. He was asking her on her opinion on all sort of things, half of which Gail hadn’t even known he was interested in. But Gail didn’t feel like she should intervene. Her father looked so happy to have someone to talk to, and Holly seemed to be enjoying herself, too.

Since Holly was occupied, which meant that Elaine could not interrogate her about her family and her aspirations and other, equally important things, Elaine decided on lecturing her son about on his love interests. That was a topic Gail deemed way funnier than whatever Bill and Holly were currently talking about, so Gail shifted her attention to the other conversation.

“Steve, when are you going to get over Willow and go on a date with one of the girls I introduced you too. You should take an example from your sister. Gail broke up with that Collins boy and found a worthy partner in Holly.”

Even though Gail would have described Holly using completely different wording, and Elaine’s and Gail’s definitions of “worthy” were probably not even remotely similar, Gail could only agree with that statement. She noticed that Steve’s ears got red, a tell-tale sign that he was uncomfortable.

“I did go on a date with one of the girls you proposed, mother.”

“Yes, but you told her-“ Elaine huffed. “You were very rude to her.”

“What did you do?” asked Gail gleefully. Holly looked up when she heard Gail talking.

“Nothing.” Steve shrugged. “Told her I didn’t want to be involved with someone who only wants to date me because of my last name.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Gail saw Holly nod. _Good to know_.

“She’s from the Thompson family. That’s a good family,” said Elaine.

Steve sighed. “Mom, can we talk about something else, please?”

Elaine pursed her lips, but complied. “How about work. Tommy told me about what happened today.”

Gail could almost hear Steve groan. And even though she felt sorry for him, she was glad that she wasn’t on the receiving end of Elaine’s berating for once.

______________

When Elaine’s phone rang, Steve was released from his ordeal. Elaine excused herself and went to her study to take the call. It was work, of course. But the Peck siblings didn’t mind, it meant they could relax for a few minutes.

Steve handed out seconds, and provided Gail with an extra big piece of meat and potatoes, which she devoured at top speed. The salad was left untouched. Bill didn’t even bat an eye at his kids’ behaviour. It occured to Holly that this was something that might have happened before, maybe even regularly.

The siblings ate quickly, only interrupting their shoveling and chewing with short questions and answers like ‘how are you’ and ‘fine, no worries’. Bill smiled at it, before turning to Holly. “You’d think they hadn’t eaten in a week, wouldn’t you.”

That was a strange remark. Holly nodded slowly.

Bill sighed. “I can’t blame them. I’m not a fan of all the salads either. And they need the energy to grow tall and strong, while I only grow horizontally these days.” He lowered his voice. “I have a secret food stash at work, but don’t tell Elaine.”

Holly blinked. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard that correctly or if she’d dreamed it.

The siblings put down their cutlery.

“I asked Tommy to call mom tonight,” confessed Steve.

Gail high-fived him. “I knew you had some brains underneath all that ginger hair of yours.”

Steve grinned. “Why thanks, sis.”

“Come on, kids. Let’s clean up.”

Steve and Gail did as their father asked. After that, Steve asked the girls if they wanted to play on the Wii with him.

“Dont say yes,” said Gail in a warning tone. “He’ll want to play that dancing game.”

But that only made Holly want to agree even more.

______________

 

Holly would never have thought that the Peck siblings would be able to dance like that. She suspected that they must have played the ‘dancing game’ quite often, and that Gail wasn’t as opposed to it as she made out. She’d even noticed Bill in his chair, moving slightly to the beat of the music. She wasn’t sure if the siblings noticed, since they were so caught up in their game.

But when Elaine entered the room again, they turned off the game and joined their parents on the sofa. When Elaine opened her mouth to ask them something, Gail pretended to look at her watch and exclaimed that it was time to go.

“I wish we could stay longer, but we need to go to Holly’s now. Her uncle is visiting from overseas. He asked if we wanted to come to the lake with him tomorrow morning, so we’re gonna stay at Holly’s tonight.”

“You’re staying over at Holly’?” Elaine asked, horrified.

“Yes, mother.” Gail sounded annoyed. “Is that a problem?”

“You haven’t been together for that long,” Elaine pointed out.

“I hadn’t been together with Chris or Nick for that long either before they stayed over. And it’s not like either of us will get pregnant.”

Elaine turned bright red. Holly kind of felt sorry for her. But at least she gave in, and let them go.

“Send my regards to Georges.”

Holly promised she would, before going to the hallway to retrieve her jacket. Gail looked suspiciously from Holly to her mother. _Who was this Georges person?_

They all went to the hallway, where Bill held out their coats for them. Holly took hers and put it on. Bill went out to bring the car around.

Elaine stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Holly.”

Holly shook it. “You too, Superintendent Peck.”

Gail rolled her eyes at her, but Elaine looked pleased at the use of her title. “You’re welcome to come over any time. I’ll make a watermelon salad for our next family dinner.”

Holly thanked her again and followed Bill and Gail out of the door.

“Your mom likes salad for dinner a lot, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, that’s because I was a fat kid.” Gail was struggling with her sweater’s sleeve, that was stuck underneath her jacket somewhere up her biceps.

“Oh.”

“And besides, my mother doesn’t know how to cook. My father does a way better job. It’s his hidden talent.”

Gail opened the door and ushered Holly to get in.

“Whereto?” asked Bill.

Holly gave him her address and they took off.

______________

 

When they arrived at Holly’s, Bill neatly parked his car behind Holly’s father’s. They got out and Holly rang the door.

“I forgot my key,” she explained, grinning sheepishly.

“It happens,” said Bill. “One time Gail forgot hers, and she nearly gave me a heart attack climbing through the bathroom window when I was in there shaving.”

“Stop exaggerating, dad.” She turned to Holly and whispered “ _What are you doing to my family? I have never seen my dad act as laid back as tonight.”_

Bill looked pensive. “Yeah, you’re right. The probability of me having cut my own carotid artery might have been higher.” He turned to Holly. “I have a really sharp razor knife.”

Holly nodded. “My dad doesn’t like it when I climb through our windows. When he catches me, he makes me climb back down and come in through the door.”

“Maybe I should do that too.”

The front door swung open and revealed a man Gail had never seen before.

“Uncle Zac!” Holly threw herself in his arms. “You’re here already?! I thought you’d be arriving in the middle of the night!”

Uncle Zac kissed Holly on the forehead. “Hi Holls. Yeah, I left a little earlier than planned. So glad to see you. Whom did you bring?”

Gail stuck out her hand. “I’m Gail Peck. Holly’s, um–”

“My girlfriend,” Holly added helpfully.

Zac looked up to Bill. “Then you must be William Peck? I thought I recognised you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They will kiss. Soonish. Bc Johanna asked.
> 
> Also I need a yearbook quote. If you have any suggestions, let me know.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Zac, a camping trip, and lots of feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating took very long bc lots of important exams and not much time, followed by placements. Got to spend some time with babies and the elderly.
> 
> But I used a famous trope to make it up to you. Added some fluff too. As always, thanks to my lovely beta curious-circumstances for correcting my many mistakes. Enjoy!

Uncle Zac and Olivia were the only ones at home. Uncle Zac had offered to babysit Olivia and had convinced Kathryn and Jeff, Holly’s parents, to go out for dinner, just the two of them. Zac invited Bill in for a drink, but Bill said he had to get home soon so he didn’t have the time to sit down and chat. Gail and Holly brought Gail’s bag to Holly’s bedroom, leaving Bill and Zac to talk. When they came back downstairs, Bill was preparing to leave.

Bill squeezed Gail’s shoulder in goodbye. “Bye Gail. Be good. Bye Holly.” He shook Uncle Zac’s hand. “It was nice to see you again.”

“It was. We should meet up sometime. Now that I have met your daughter, I realised I haven’t even met your wife yet. Nor your son! We really should catch up.”

Bill promised he’d let Zac know when he was free so they could go for lunch some time. He waved the girls goodbye as he walked out the door.

“How do you know my father?”

“We shared a bed once. A long time ago.” When he saw the look on Gail’s face, he laughed. “A bunk bed. Now, off you go! You should both get some sleep. We’ll be leaving very early in the morning.”

As Gail followed Holly up the stairs, she grumbled. “What a non-answer.”

“You’ll find out,” soothed Holly. “Uncle Zac likes to act all mysterious, but he’s not very good at keeping it up.”

By the time Gail had found her toothbrush, Holly had already brushed her teeth and returned to her bedroom. She was huddled under her covers when Gail came in.

“Can you turn off the light?”

“Yeah, sure.” Gail eyed the bed and hesitated. “Um, Holly? Do you have a sleeping mat for me?”

“My bed is big enough to fit us both.” Holly lifted the covers and patted the space next to her. _Why would Gail even need a sleeping mat?_ _Oh._ Holly’s face fell. “Oh. Unless—I thought—We’ll be sharing a tent tomorrow. I just—I  assumed it wouldn’t be a problem. I’m sorry. I should have checked with you.”

“Oh.” Gail stood still, thoughts running through her head. “Okay.”

“If it’s the gay thing that is bothering you… I will _not_ feel you up in your sleep, I promise. I won’t even touch you.”

Gail raised an eyebrow. “You tell yourself that. As if you could stay away from this.” She gestured to her own body.

“It’s not the ‘gay thing’. I don’t mind in the slightest. I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable… I tend to cuddle in my sleep.”

Holly grinned. “Are you admitting you can’t stay away from all of _this_?”

“Now, scoot. I need more space than that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Holly was relieved. For a second, she’d thought Gail was repulsed by the idea of sharing a bed with her.

“Shut up and sleep, nerd.”

Holly giggled.

Gail shuffled closer to her. “And hold me. I’m cold.”

______________

 

The door busted open, nearly jolting Gail off the bed.

“Wakey, wakey!”

“Oh, God,” Gail rubbed her head. Holly hadn’t even moved yet.

Olivia sing-songed. “Not God, but Liv. You need to get up!” She poked Holly. “Holl?” Another poke.

Holly pulled the sheets up higher and grumbled incoherently.

“Liv,” pleaded Gail. “We’ll be down soon. I promise. Just let us get up in peace, yeah?”

Olivia darted out of the room. Gail heard her high-five her uncle. “Good job, kid.”

Gail grabbed her phone to see what time it was. Not even 6 AM. She groaned. And another message of Andy. She dropped her phone and nuzzled back under the covers, only to be woken by the blaring of Holly’s alarm.

Holly took her phone and shook it. The alarm went silent. She rolled over and her gaze met Gail’s. “Hey.”

“Morning, nerd. I hope that’s not representative for every morning at the Stewart’s. I’m not sure if I can marry you if it is.”

Holly smiled. “I would marry you if that meant I got to see that bed hair every morning.”

Gail slapped her shoulder. “Not funny.”

“Not trying to be.” Holly rolled over and swung her legs over the bed. She stretched her muscles and yawned. “Time to get up, honey.”

“Uhhh. Fine.”

They brushed their teeth and changed into their hiking gear. Gail tried to pat down her hair, but it wouldn’t stay that way. It didn’t help that Holly kept running her hands through Gail’s hair to make it stick up again.

Uncle Zac and Olivia were busy making breakfast and packing food for their trip. Jeff was more or less awake as well, seated at the kitchen table and nursing a big cup of coffee. He handed mugs to Holly and Gail as well.

Gail readily accepted the mug. “Thanks, Jeff.”

“Trust me, you’ll need it.”

Gail shot Holly a look. “You said it wouldn’t be that bad.”

Holly waved her doubts away. “It won’t. Uncle Zac is fun.”

“Thanks, little niece.” Zac clasped his big hands around their shoulders. “Maybe put some food in you, so we can leave, yeah?”

They sat down at the table and started eating their breakfast. Before long, Uncle Zac announced they should take off. He and Jeff put all of their stuff into his car, before ushering the girls inside as well.

Gail claimed the back seat, so that she could nap while they drove. Holly agreed to ride shotgun, on the condition that she had full reign over the music. Gail shrugged. She had her ear plugs, so she didn’t really mind.

______________

 

Uncle Zac didn’t seem to mind who was in control over the music either. He belted out the songs, whether he knew them or not. Mostly off-key, of course. And loud enough to penetrate through Gail’s ear plugs. After an hour, she gave up trying to sleep and decided to spend her time munching on the provisions Zac had put together.

Holly had been observing her in the mirror. “I can’t believe you can put away that much food.”

“Hey!” Gail sounded offended. “I’m hungry!”

“How are you still this lean? That’s not fair.”

“I run.” Gail started munching on a cookie. “Not only from my problems, but in the physical way too.” She held out the package for Holly. “Want one?”

Holly declined, but Uncle Zac made an attempt to take one.

“Not you.” Gail pulled back and scowled. “You’re the whole reason we’re on this trip.”

“I’m also the reason there we even have cookies.”

“That’s fair,” Gail coonceded. “You may have _one_.”

Holly laughed. “Gail…”

“Okay. Two then. But that’s all you’re going to get, Zachary.”

Uncle Zac just laughed.

______________

 

Gail was deleting another string of messages when Holly appeared behind her and hugged her around the waist. She put her chin on Gail’s shoulder and peered at her screen.

“What are you doing?”

Gail dismissed it with a shrug. “Nothing.” She turned off her phone.

“Still mad at her, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Holly hummed and pulled her closer against her. “I finished putting up the tent. We’re leaving soon.”

“Leaving?”

“On our hike,” Holly supported. “That’s like, our sole purpose this weekend.”

“Oh, right. We should put on our boots.”

Holly turned around and started walking back towards their camping site, when Gail grabbed her by the hand.

“Wait for me, nerd. I don’t want to get lost in these woods.”

______________

 

Uncle Zac was looking at the steep hillside in front of him, contemplating whether to go around it or climb it.

“So, Holl, what do you reckon?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at the girls.

Holly opened her mouth to answer, but Gail interrupted her.

“I think we should go around them.”

Holly laughed. “Come on, Gail. Where’s your sense for adventure?”

“I left it at home,” she deadpanned. “Oops.”

Holly took Gails hand and pulled her forward. “Come on, lazy.”

“I liked ‘honey’ better.”

Uncle Zac winked at her. “I bet.”

Gail stuck out her tongue. “Don’t mess with me, Zachary.”

“Your girlfriend is quite rude, Holly. I like her. You should tell me how you met.”

“Do you want the real version or the one that’s appropriate for children?” Gail asked.

Uncle Zac held up his hands. “Woah. The latter, please.”

Holly rolled her eyes. “There is no PG version.”

“There is. I remember a lot of curse words were involved in the first one.”

Holly sighed. “Fair enough.”

They climbed the hill through the woods. While walking, Gail told uncle Zac an exaggerated version of the story they’d told before. She didn’t hold back from adding a few elements now that Holly couldn’t contradict without them being suspicious.

“So, we finally met up in person, and Holly brought this huge basket with all sorts of food. She even had a blanket with hearts on it!” Holly elbowed her in the side. Gail didn’t care. She was delighted by the opportunities when Holly was not able to protest. “And then she whipped out a candy ring and asked me to be exclusive.” Holly sighed.

“I should have known that Holly would be instantly smitten,” was all Uncle Zac said when she finished the story.

Gail nodded in agreement. “She’s such a sap.”

This, Holly could protest to. “Am not!”

“Are too.” Gail said absentmindedly. Her attention was drawn by a concrete construction a bit further down their path. “Hey look! Can we go there?”

Gail led them to a hillock covered in moss and bushes. A concrete wall protruded from the side and led to a tiny bunker, with one single doorway. They put down their backpacks and went to explore further.

Gail peered inside. “There’s only junk inside.”

“That’s not too exciting.” Uncle Zac entered the bunker after her. He lifted some of the metal scraps and threw them away. “When I was in Europe, we visited bunkers from the World War. They’re much bigger than this thing. Sometimes even the trenches are still there and you can walk around in them. It’s quite impressive. I can’t imagine how bad it must have been for the soldiers.”

“I visited them too. One of them was underground. It was meant for an entire regiment, but barely fitted our tourist group. I think it must have been horrible,” Gail admitted. “Have you been?” she asked Holly.

Holly shook her head. “It sounds depressing.”

Uncle Zac agreed. “But it’s definitely worth a visit. Hey, maybe you should go to Europe together some time. Like on your honeymoon.”

Gail and Holly looked at each other.

“I think war memorials are not exactly what one would want to visit on their honeymoon,” Gail drawled. “Then again, Holly is such a nerd that she just might.”

“Shut up.” Holly laughed. “I would, though.”

“Not that I don’t like your banter, but can I interest anyone in having lunch?”

Gail lit up immediately.

“There’s an open place a bit further down, we could go there?” was Holly’s suggestion. She looked at their surroundings. “It’s a bit mouldy here.”

“Yeah sure.” Uncle Zac left the room and walked back to where they’d left their backpacks.

“I hope it’s not too far away!”

“It’s not, honey. You won’t die of hunger.”

“I might die of thirst first.”

Holly winked at her. “The thirst is real, huh?”

Gail huffed. “Har har.”

“Aw, don’t be mad. Let’s go.”

“Before I murder you, cook your body and eat it,” mumbled Gail.

“Now you want to eat me too? Honey, you’re so sweet.”

Gail threw a leaf at Holly’s head. “You’re lucky your uncle is out of earshot.”

“I’m lucky you can’t throw for shit. You would make a bad lesbian.”

“Why’s that?” Gail sounded offended. “I’d be great!”

“Don’t kid yourself. You wouldn’t even make the softball team.”

Gail rolled her eyes. “Way to stereotype, nerd.”

Holly smiled. “Come on. Uncle Zac might just eat all of the sandwiches.”

Gail squealed and hurried past Holly. “Stay away from my backpack, Zachary!”

______________

 

“You were right. This spot is beautiful.” Gail looked in awe. They had found a dry fallen tree trunk to sit on, at the edge of the wood. Now that they were seated, not even the sound of their own footfalls could be heard. They could hear animal sounds and even the soft breeze rustling through the trees. They could smell the damp leaves that covered the forest’s ground. It was a nice day, the sun setting high. They let the rays of sunlight dance across their faces while they ate. The silence was only broken by them asking each other to pass water or sandwiches.

“I know.” Holly smiled. “Uncle Zac and I used to come here quite often, before he moved.” She stood and took a few steps forward, before taking a seat on the grass-covered ground.

“Good times, huh, kiddo?”

Holly hummed in agreement. She leaned back on her hands and closed her eyes to resume her blissful sunbathing.

Uncle Zac stood and walked to the other side of the open spot, where he examined one thing or another. Holly opened one eye to peer at Gail and beckoned her over.

“I can’t leave the shadow.”

“How come? Are you a vampire? Should I call you Gaildward? Gella?”

Gail threw a twig at her. “No. Unless sunlight makes Edward turn into a lobster instead of a glitter fest. Since when do vampires not go up in flames in the sunlight? At least I burn.”

“Good on you. Now take the bottle of sunscreen and come here.”

Gail took the bottle and plopped down next to Holly. She took the bottle from her and massaged the sunscreen into Gail’s back and shoulders. Meanwhile, Gail applied some on her face and arms.

“Did you know that you have to apply 30 ml of sunscreen to be protected? That’s like, half a small tube. Oh, and did you know that some people are allergic to UVA or UVB? Being allergic to UVA is more annoying though, they even burn through glass.”

Gail gave her a look. “Um, no? How was I supposed to know that?”

Holly shrugged. “I think it’s interesting.”

Gail shook her head. “I will never understand how you fit all these things in that big brain of yours…” She smiled. “… Nerd.”

“You really should find me a new pet name.”

“Nope. Not gonna happen.” Gail let herself fall back and crossed her arms behind her head.

Holly looked at her friend. She’d been enjoying today. She dreaded the moment they’d have to return home. Luckily, they still had the rest of the afternoon and tonight to enjoy themselves. She sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Holly stayed quiet for a while. “It’s getting late. It’s almost time to go back.”

______________

 

“I get that you like this hiking stuff,” said Gail. “I’m just wondering why you drive all the way down here, to these woods, when you could also drive to the city and walk down the streets and do some shopping while you’re there.”

Uncle Zac stopped from trying to light the fire and studied her expression for a few seconds. “I honestly can’t tell if you’re being serious.”

Gail grinned at him but said nothing.

“She’s not. Earlier, she told me she was enjoying today.” Holly sat down next to Gail and handed sodas to her uncle and Gail.

“Hey!” Gail swatted at Holly. “Way to rat me out!”

They were seated on big branches placed around a stack of smaller branches and twigs. Uncle Zac was trying to light the fire, but had had no luck so far. It didn’t help that Gail was distracting him and messing with him throughout his attempts. Holly hadn’t been talking much ever since they’d arrived back at their camping site. She looked very tired and pale. She’d said she needed to lay down for a bit, entered their tent and stayed in there for quite some time. Meanwhile, Gail and Zac had made the preparations for their dinner and collected wood to start a fire. Holly reappeared shortly after they’d started trying to light the fire, looking better after she’d had gotten some rest. Gail had teased her for only waking after all the work had been done, so Holly had offered to fetch everyone drinks for the night.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Gail didn’t look all that convinced, but she let it slide. “Your uncle is the worst. He has zero survival skills. We were lucky that you were there too or we probably would have gotten lost in the woods and been mauled by bears.”

“There are no bears here,” said Zac indignantly.

“I am aware. _That’s_ how lost we would have been,” she shot back.

Holly shook her head. “What am I to do with the two of you?” she sighed. “I like babysitting Olivia and her friends better.”

“Hey!” they both cried out.

“At least they play nice.”

“I can play nice.” Gail stood up and walked over to Zac. “Give me that.”

Gail got own on her knees and blew on the smoldering twigs and leaves. Within minutes, they burst into flames. Gail looked very pleased with herself, while Zac looked at her disbelievingly. “Why didn’t you tell me you could do that?”

She shrugged as she added some sticks to the fire. “It’s more fun to watch you squirm.”

“Aw. That’s mean.”

“You’re a big boy, Zachary. You can take it.”

“You should teach me instead of making fun of me.”

“I could do that,” Gail agreed. “But it’d be less fun.” She took a bigger chunk of wood and put it in the flames.

“Aw, come on.”

“How come you can’t light a fire when you go on hikes all the time.”

Zac looked sheepishly. “Um.”

“Because it’s my job,” Holly chimed in. “Though Uncle Zac is notorious for _accidentally_ setting things on fire.”

“I have not touched another pizza box ever since the accident.”

“Ever since the _second_ accident, you mean?”

“Ehh…”

Gail laughed. “What happened with the pizza boxes?”

“Um, fire.”

“He opened them above a candle, didn’t notice it until smoke started circling up and the first flames appeared.”

“I put it out!”

“Using my coke!”

“Coke isn’t healthy for you anyways.”

Holly rolled her eyes. “And then you did it a second time.”

“Not my fault.” Zac crossed his arms. “I told you to put the candles away.”

“I did!”

“Yes, but not far enough.”

Holly sighed. “You’re a pyromaniac.”

“Am not.”

“He definitely isn’t,” Gail agreed. “Otherwise, he’d have managed to put these sticks on fire, too. Wasn’t that hard.”

“Ugh. What was I thinking, going on a hike with the two of you. I should have known you’d team up. Next time, I’ll bring back-up too.”

Holly laughed. “Looking forward to it, Uncle Zac.”

Zac smiled at her. He got up and ruffled her hair. “Me too, kiddo. Let’s cook some food.”

______________

 

“When you said ‘cook some food’,” Gail started, ‘I really thought you meant ‘cook’ it. Not ‘hold it above a fire until it’s crispy and _charred_.”

“Well… At least all the germs are dead now.”

Gail wasn’t convinced.

“You can be the cook and I’ll tell a story,” Zac suggested.

“Yeah, I’ll take that offer. Except if your stories are as bad as your camping skills.”

Zac waved her concerns away. “I am a great storyteller. Right, Holls?”

Holly stood. “I’m going to get some more water. Does anyone else want another drink?”

“Hey.” Gail pulled her back down. “You stay here. Let me get that.”

“But I’m on drinks-fetching duty.”

“I know. But you’re also tired. I can do it.” Gail stood up and got the drinks out of the cool box.

“Thanks.”

“No worries, nerd. I’ve got your back.”

Holly smiled at her.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright. Don’t worry.”

Gail bumped their shoulders together. “I am allowed to get worried, _girlfriiiiend_.” She lowered her voice. “And I really like that you can’t protest to anything I say today without giving us away. It’s great fun.”

“For you,” Holly added. “I’m the one who keeps getting embarrassed.”

“Aww. I can embarrass myself too, you know.” Gail looked up. “Hey, Zachary!”

“That’s a good start,” mumbled Holly.

Zac turned around. “What?”

“Do you want to hear the story about me decorating Holly’s room with rose petals and paper hearts?”

Holly shook her head and buried her face in her hands.

______________

 

The fire was steadily burning lighting the darkness of the night. The light was dancing on their faces, making them glow. It kept them warm enough to not need a jacket. To Gail’s delight, Zac had opened a bag of marshmallows which they had been roasting in the fire. They’d mostly been sharing them between the two of them, since Holly didn’t want to upset her stomach. Gail felt as if she’d eaten half her weight in marshmallows already. Her stomach would have to cope.

“So Holly, how’s badminton going?”

Gail looked at Holly in surprise. “You played badminton?”

“How did you not know that?” laughed Zac. “Have you been too busy doing other things to talk about these things?” He frowned. “Actually, the rose petal thing would have taken quite some time. Especially the part with the ceiling.”

Holly shrugged “It just didn’t come up yet. Maybe because I quit.”

“You quit?” Zac was taken aback. “What happened?”

“I had a wrist injury.”

“When was that?” Zac turned around to pick up another log.

“Um, three months or so ago? I slipped on the bath mat after my shower. But no worries, I’ll start again after the holiday. I’ve been running instead for now.”

Gail giggled and whispered to Holly “You hurt your wrist? Holly…that’s bad news for our sex life.”

“I heard that!” said Zac, at the same time that Holly turned as red as a beet and hissed “Gail!”

Now it was Gail’s turn to blush. “I’m sorry.”

Zac shook his head and shivered. “There are certain things I don’t need or want to know.”

Holly nodded. “Agreed.”

“Let’s never talk about this again.”

Holly nodded again. “Agreed.”

“Well. You gals can stay up if you want, but I’m off to sleep.”

They bid Zac goodnight and watched as he went to his tent and disapeared inside.

“Is he gonna fit in that tiny thing?” asked Gail.

“Probably. He can always leave his feet to stick outside.”

“Holly… I’m really sorry about embarrassing you like that. I just wanted to tease you a little, I didn’t mean for your uncle to hear.”

“I know. It’s alright.”

“No, it’s—I’ll try my best to not say things like that again.”

Holly sighed. “Gail…”

Gail already missed the ‘honey’.

“It’s okay, really. I make these jokes too, remember? It’s just…” Holly fell silent.

Gail nudged her. “What?”

“I think I may be reading into it too much.”

Gail was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Holly sighed. “It’s not that I mind you saying these things. It’s just—I’m a seventeen year old baby gay. It’s hard not to wish that someone would actually mean all of that when they say it to me instead of it only being a joke.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Holly looked away, to avoid catching Gail’s gaze.

“I, uh—” Gail was at a loss of what to say. She did like Holly. A lot. More than she liked most of her friends. And, as she’d realised before, she felt comfortable around Holly, and she wanted to be around her. But did that mean she had feelings for Holly? And did Holly’s confession mean that Holly liked her? Like _that_? She wasn’t sure, it was all so confusing.

Holly patted Gail’s leg before standing up and saying “Don’t bother. It’s alright. Let’s go to bed.”

______________

 

Gail laid awake in the dark. She could hear the rustling of the leaves even though Holly was breathing loudly next to her. She’d been trying to fall asleep as well, for what felt like several hours now. No matter what she tried, her mind kept going back to Holly’s words. Gail tossed and turned before remembering Holly was lying next to her and waking her would mean she’d ask what was wrong and Gail would have to talk. She was not ready to talk. Not yet. Gail sighed and reached out to her phone. She pressed the start button until the screen lit up. No bars, but that didn’t matter to her. Gail opened her conversation with Holly and started reading.

______________

 

Holly stirred. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times against the light. She stretched out her arms and yawned. Then she noticed Gail wasn’t in their tent anymore. Holly reached for her sweater and pulled it over her head. Then she put on her boots and opened the tent flap. When she peered outside, she saw uncle Zac and Gail talking over their breakfast, wrapped in blankets against the chill of the morning. She got out of the tent and walked up to them.

“Hey.”

“Morning,” Gail smiled back and opened her blanket for Holly. Holly gratefully sought cover underneath it. She rubbed her hands together and blew on them to get warm again.

“Did you sleep well?” asked uncle Zac.

Holly nodded. “I’m starved though.”

He handed her a lunchbox. “Eat up, young lady. After you’ve finished, we’ll pack up and leave.” Holly opened the lunchbox and took out some sandwiches. Uncle Zac went ahead and started taking down the tents.

Gail was looking at Holly. Or maybe more like staring at Holly. It made Holly a bit uncomfortable. “Have I spilled something? Am I chewing too loudly?”

Gail shook her head but stayed silent. She looked pensive as she tried to find the right words. “What you said last night, what did it mean?”

Holly frowned. “About me wishing someone was into me and wanted me?”

“Is that someone me?”

Holly didn’t really want to respond, because she didn’t know how Gail would react. “Yeah.” Holly pretend to be focussing on dissecting her sandwich.

“Hey, lunchbox. What if—what if it’s _not_ just about making stupid puns for me either?”

Holly looked confused. “It’s not? Then what—”

“I just—I really like you. That’s all I really know. And I have been thinking tonight, and reading our messages, and…” Gail fell silent.

Holly decided to push. “And?”

“I think a big part of me does mean it. The jokes, the puns, the casual remarks.”

“But?”

“I—I really like you, Holly. I mean that. I like being with you. I know I say you do, but you’re the only person that never annoys me. And I _want_ to be with you.”

Holly smiled bashfully.

“But I feel as if I’m still a bit broken right now, and I want to be the best I can be for you, and I just don’t know how.”

“Gail,” Holly leaned her head on Gail’s shoulder. “Don’t you know you’re already the best in my eyes?”

Gail looked at Holly through her eyelashes. She nuzzled her nose in Holly’s hair. ‘Holly—"

“Hey, cutiepies, hurry up. I packed the car, you should put away your plate so we can go.”

Gail and Holly scrambled upright, startled. They’d been so occupied inside their own world that, for a moment, they’d forgotten they weren’t alone.

“You can finish your sandwiches inside the car.”

“No need, uncle Zac. I’m not hungry.”

“Aw. Living on love instead of food, are you?”

“Something like that.”

They got up, Holly still carrying her lunchbox and Gail carrying the now folded blanket to the car. Before they got in, they took a last look around.

“I will miss this,” said Gail, much to Holly’s surprise.

“Weren’t you complaining about the lack of comfort yesterday?”

“I can’t recall anything like that,” Gail answered cheekily. She got into the car and beckoned Holly to follow.

“Ready?” asked Uncle Zac as Holly fastened her seatbelt.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go then.”

Slowly, he backed the car out from the spot between the trees and drove up to the dirt road. As the sun set higher, the trees made room for fields and then for houses. They were the only car passing in either direction for several kilometers. After an hour or so, their signal strength reappeared, and uncle Zac decided to call ahead to say they were on their way back home.

“Hey, Zac. What’s up?”

“Hey, Jeff. I’m on the way back. Should be home in about an hour.”

“Oh, good. Kathryn is out with Olivia, but I’ll be home. Did the girls enjoy themselves?”

“Your daughter and your daughter-in-law? I left them in the woods. Left some water too. They should still be in once piece. I think. Unless the bear got to them, but I don’t think so.”

“Isaac.” Jeff said sternly. “If you ever abandon my daughter and her girlfriend, I will personally hunt you down and feed your dead body to the forest animals.”

Gail’s eyes widened. “Your uncle’s name is Isaac? Not Zachary?” she whispered to Holly. In the background, Zac was talking to Jeff, promising he would never ever let anything bad happen to his little girl, nor any of the other members of the family.

Holly shrugged. “Yeah. But we’ve always shortened it for as far as I can remember.”

“I have been calling him Zachary for the whole trip!”

Holly grinned. “I know. That was funny.”

Zac ended the call. “Whew.” He wiped his forehead. “I think Jeff was ready to kill me.”

Holly looked pleased. “Dad’s always got my back.”

As they neared the city, Gail’s phone chimed with one message after the other. Gail ignored the first ones, but Holly nudged her to look at them. Gail didn’t want to, so she gave her her phone and the instructions to delete anything Andy sent.

“Gail, you should read this.”

“I don’t care.”

“But Gail—”

“I don’t want to know what Andy writes.”

“It’s not Andy, it’s Nick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Holly.
> 
> I WANTED TO HAVE THEM KISS IN THIS CHAPTER AND I TRIED BUT TOO MANY THINGS NEEDED TO HAPPEN FIRST (which is also why this one is so long). But unless I end up changing the whole story, it'll happen next chapter. Yay.
> 
> (A lot of things happening in this chapter are based on events in my own life. My friends refused to let me near pizza boxes and candles for quite some time.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of friends-y stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally. A kiss.
> 
> I bet some of you are not gonna like this one.

The car slowed down and parked in front of Holly’s house, shaking Gail from her thoughts. Jeff walked outside to greet them. Uncle Zac got out of the car and they started talking while unloading the car. Gail was staring at the scene before her, not moving to get out of the car herself.

Holly had been looking at her closely. She put her hand over Gail’s and spoke softly. “We can go over, if you want.”

Gail just nodded. “If that’s alright for your family.”

“I’ll explain that there’s an emergency. They’ll understand. Is that alright with you?”

Gail nodded again. “Thanks for being there,” she whispered.

Holly kissed her temple. “Always, honey.”

Holly got out of the car and spoke briefly with her uncle and dad. Gail heard Jeff ask if everything was alright and if they could help. Gail couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation, she only saw their lips move and Holly shake her head or nod occasionally. Then, Holly got back in the car and told Gail uncle Zac would drive them over.

Only minutes after, they found themselves in front of a big, white house with a big lawn, not unlike Gail’s own house. Gail stood as if frozen and stared at the front door. She felt the house loom over her, as if they were part of a movie scene and the worst was yet to come. Which, maybe, it was.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can go back,” Holly offered.

Gail shook her head. “No. But you don’t have to come if you don’t want to either.” Holly’s presence meant the world to her, but she didn’t want to assume Holly actually wanted to be there. She wasn’t sure if she would want to if the roles were reversed.

But Holly took Gail’s hand in hers. “I’m here for you, Gail.”

Gail took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Let’s do this.”

______________

“Oh. Hi?” Holly had never heard someone sound so small and insecure. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t want to see me… You didn’t respond to any of my texts.”

“Can, um, can we come in?” asked Gail.

A nod. Gail and Holly stepped inside and closed the door after them, before all going upstairs and into an all too familiar bedroom. And then they just looked at each other, gauging each other.

Gail couldn’t take it anymore. Andy’s tear-stained face made her heart ache. “Are you alright?”

“I’ve been better.”

Andy sat down on her bed. Gail stood awkwardly next to the door. Holly decided to step in. She took a seat next to Andy. “We got a text from Nick.”

“Oh.” Andy looked surprised. “He, um, he hasn’t responded to me.” She looked at Gail. “So, um, you know then.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“We do.”

Andy started crying in silence. Holly placed her arm around her and pulled her closer to comfort her. And Gail, who couldn’t bear to look at her former friend being in so much emotional pain, sat down next to her too but avoided touching her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” hiccupped Andy. “I—"

Holly squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to explain anything. Gail just wanted—Gail wanted—” She looked up and caught Gail’s gaze. Gail nodded. She’d take it from there.

“We wanted to let you know we’re here. For you.”

Andy choked out a sob. “You are?”

“Yes,” said Gail firmly. “But that doesn’t mean I have forgiven you. That will take time.”

“I’m so sorry. I—”

“I don’t want to talk about that now,” Gail interrupted her. “Let’s just sit down for a while, until you feel a little calmer. Then we can talk about anything else you’d like to talk about. Okay?”

Andy nodded.

Gail took Andy’s hand and squeezed it. “Good.”

______________

The doorbell rang shortly after. Andy got up. “I called Traci before you arrived, she said she was on her way,” she said apologetically. “I actually thought it was her at the door earlier.”

Gail waved her off. “Just go open the door already.”

As Andy left the room, Gail shuffled closer to Holly and said in a low voice “This is not how I imagined you meeting my friends.”

Holly smiled empathically. “Me neither. But you and I meeting wasn’t how I imagined meeting my girlfriend either. So I guess weird encounters are just normal for us.”

Gail smiled back. “Yeah,” she agreed.

Then Andy and Traci stepped in the room.

“Hey, Gail, and…?” Traci said.

“Holly,” Gail supported. “My girlfriend.”

“…and Holly,” Traci smiled. “Hi. I’m Traci. Gail’s friend.” She gestured for Gail to move aside. “Scoot. I want a seat too.” She sat down next to Gail and looked from one person in the room to the other. “Wow. I think we all really need to talk.”

______________

They decided to go for a walk, all four of them. They left in the direction of the park,, as Gail suggested they might look for an ice cream truck while there, ‘because ice cream makes everything better’. It could cool down many situations too, Holly added. And as Traci said, the sun  _ was  _ hot that day. There was absolutely no need to put a jacket on.

There was a silent understanding to avoid bringing up the reason they were all there, at least for now. Andy finally seemed to feel a little bit better now that her friends were there. She was the one to bring up the topic of Gail and Holly.

“I’m sorry about how I behaved last time I saw you. I understand that you don’t want to be my friend anymore.”

“I’m sorry about what I said back then, about you and Nick deserving each other. Nick’s an even bigger asshole than you.”

“Yeah.” Andy looked guilty. “Gail, I’m truly sorry about what happened. I should never have—” 

“I wouldn’t be together with Holly if it weren’t for you and Nick. That’s actually the only good thing he’s brought on me. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have thrown toilet paper at the wrong house and Holly and I wouldn’t be fa—" Holly grabbed Gail’s sleeve and pulled her into her. The rest of her words were muffled by Holly’s lips on her own. “—king it,” she whispered, before easing into the kiss.

It was over all too soon. “I’m sorry, I just needed you to shut up,” she husked. “You were going to give us away.”

“Wow,” Traci whistled. “Gail. I’ve never seen you so publicly affectionate with anyone. What has gotten into you?”

“Or who?” whispered Gail in Holly’s ear.

“That’s not accurate,” Holly whispered back.

“Not yet,” Gail agreed. She grabbed Holly’s hand and turned to face Traci. “Have you  _ seen  _ Holly. Anything to keep her around.”

“Awww.” Traci winked at Holly. “

“Keep it in your pants, Nash.”

Traci mocked saluted her. “Yes, Officer Peck.”

______________

Andy jogged until she was up to speed with Gail. She was obviously overthinking something, Gail could tell. She’d just have to wait for it to come out.  

She didn’t have to wait long. “I—I’m happy for you and Holly.”

“Thanks,” said Gail dryly.

But with every word Andy spoke after that, Gail got more and more confused. “I get what she sees in you. You’re more than worth it. I should have never chosen a boy over you.”

Gail lifted an eyebrow. “Are you propositioning me, McNally? Because I’m gonna say no.”

“I hope so.” Holly and Traci, who had been walking behind them, had obviously been eavesdropping. Holly wrapped her arm around Gail’s waist posessively. “I’m the only one you should say yes to.”

“Don’t worry, nerd.” She tapped Holly’s nose with her index finger. “I’ll choose you every time. Definitely if you buy me an ice cream.” She pointed to the ice cream truck parked a little further down.

Holly sighed in mock despair. “Alright, moocher.”

They all bought ice cream and moved to the nearest bench. Gail claimed there wasn’t enough space on the bench to fit them all so she would have to sit on Holly’s lap. She didn’t mind Holly’s cone was very close to her as well, though Holly did, since Gail kept eating her ice cream as well as her own.

They talked about anything and nothing. Still, neither of them brought up the real reason they were there. They tried to keep it as light as possible. So when Andy dropped Nick’s name, they could feel the atmosphere shift from semi-relaxed to tense within a moment.

It was not that Gail didn’t want to talk about it. Well, maybe she didn’t. But she wanted to speak with Holly so badly, and not with Andy. Not yet. Even though she knew Andy needed her now, like she needed Traci. She could be there, physically, and let her know that she was willing to be there, but that she needed more time to sort out her own thoughts. A lot more time. Because even though Gail would have thought she’d be able to shake it all off, and forget all about Andy, she couldn’t. They had been friends for too long. A part of her did miss her friend tremendously. She’d tried avoiding Andy, but in doing so she’d also avoided Traci. And the other members of their group of friends too, since Andy was bound to be there when the rest of them met up. It came as a big shock to her when Traci had told her earlier that they hadn’t seen Andy much either. Traci had texted them both, and Andy had told her what had happened while Gail’s lips were sealed. Gail had answered Traci’s texts but always declined her invitations to meet up with her and/or the others. Now she wished she hadn’t. She could have introduced Holly to Traci a while ago. She should have. She felt slightly guilty that she hadn’t done so sooner. Holly and Traci seemed to get along, which was good. Gail felt sure that Holly was right for her, and that Traci was happy for them.

Gail might never say it out loud, but Traci was a great friend. They went way back, having met at summer camp when they weren’t even teens yet. Traci was talking to Andy right now, calming her down, comforting her, reassuring her. And Gail wasn’t even jealous. She knew Traci was there for her too, that she didn’t judge either Gail or Andy. And as Gail felt Holly softly squeeze her hand, she knew that even in this moment, Holly was there for her too.

______________

In the end, Gail mostly stayed silent while Traci and even Holly did the talking. She didn’t know what to say. A part of her – a bigger part than she’d like to admit – was relieved when their ways finally parted and everyone went back to their own homes. At least, that was the plan, but Gail hadn’t even noticed Holly had led her back to her house until she took Gail’s key and opened the lock of her front door and took her upstairs and sat her down on the couch. That was when Gail’s thoughts spilled out, getting more real and scary as the words fell off her lips. And after it all, after all her insecurities were spoken out loud, Holly was still there to comfort her. To tell her that she wasn’t a bad person, to tell her that it was normal to have all these mixed up feelings, to tell her that she was allowed to feel what she felt. That she wasn’t a bad person for ignoring Andy but reaching out now that she needed her most.

“But it took me until Nick’s text to stop being this mad.”

“Your first instinct was to run to Andy, not Nick.’

“So?”

“You’re mad at her—which you’re allowed to be. You also still care about her.”

Gail looked so broken in that moment, her voice small. “I don’t want to still care about her.”

“Oh, honey. I know you don’t want to.” She tucked a strand of Gail’s hair behind her ear. “But you do.”

Gail looked up at her. Holly saw the unshed tears brimming in her eyes.

“Gail,” Holly offered softly. Gail looked away. She didn’t want to see the pity in Holly’s eyes. “Honey, no, look at me,” Holly pleaded.

“You don’t have to pity me.”

“I don’t. Gail, honey, you’re strong and caring and compassionate. I’m sorry this is hurting you so much, but I don’t pity you.”

“But she’s pregnant. With Nick’s baby. Nick, who was my boyfriend at the time this baby was conceived.”

“I know, honey.” She pulled Gail into her. “I know.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently noticed Andy kinda disappeared somehow when she was in Gail’s house in chapter idk#. Oops.
> 
> As always, thanks to curious-circumstances bc she's an awesome beta!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex is mentioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a long, long time because of reasons.  
> I.e. I've been diagnosing people like a pro. I'm far from a pro. Still got most of the diagnoses right.
> 
> Fluff. Because we all need fluff.
> 
> As always, shout out to my lovely beta curious-circumstances!

Holly’s phone buzzed.

“ _I’ll be at yours in five secs_ ”

She was still typing out her reply when the doorbell rang. A familiar blonde stood behind the door, impatiently hopping from one leg to the other.

“You meant literally five seconds?”

Gail pushed her way past Holly. “Well yeah. Last time you told me to warn you in advance if I came by again.” She tilted her head and quoted “ _Let me know a bit in advance next time you come around_? Remember?”

“Right.” Holly closed the door and followed Gail into the house. “So, what brings you here today?”

“I have an important question.”

“Is that why you’re so skittish?”

“Skittish? Me?”

“You keep looking around as if you’re certain someone is following you.”

“The only stalker I have is you, nerd.”

“Why, thanks,” Holly deadpanned. “So are you going to ask me your big question?”

“First of all, I’m not proposing. Second of all, no. Not yet.”

“Okay then. I’m going to study upstairs for a bit, you can join me if you want.”

Gail looked at her sceptically.

“I also have magazines lying around.”

Gail cocked her head to the side, lips pursed.

“And comics,” Holly added.

“Let’s go then!”

______________

 

“Do you really read this stuff?” Gail was lying on Holly’s bed, holding a magazine and trying to not drop it on her head.

“I do,” Holly responded. “One day I might even write this stuff.”

“Yeah, you will, nerd. I’m sure about that.” Gail went back and forth through the pages. “Hey! Is this author ‘G. Stewart-Brown’ that dude my mother is always nagging to you about?”

Holly nodded.

“So where do you know him from? Is he related to you?”

“Yup. Hence we share our last name.”

“That’s why I asked.” Gail stuck out her tongue. “But you guys are Stewarts and he’s a hyphen Brown.”

“Yeah,” Holly hesitated. “About that. Do you know the Stewart-Browns?”

 “Well I’ve heard about them. They’re a quite rich family, though a small one, I think?”

“Yeah. It’s _my_ family. Georges is my grandfather. We dropped the Brown so people would not know that we’re family if we didn’t tell them.” Holly looked up at Gail. “Not that we’re ashamed of our name,” she added, “but people assume we’re that wealthy as well and you get a lot of false friends . And Stewart is a common name after all.”

 

“So is Brown.”

Holly smiled. “I like Stewart better.”

“Yeah. I like Stewart too.” Gail looked Holly up and down and winked slyly.

“Good, you can keep the name when we get married. Holly Peck doesn’t have the same ring to it as Gail Stewart.”

Gail pulled a face. Holly winked at her before resuming her reading.

“Hey, nerd.”

“Yeah?”

“We are—like—a thing, right?”

“We’re not _things_.”

“I mean, an item? A couple?”

Holly swirled her desk chair around to face Gail. “Gail, you know I was just teasing you, right?” Gail nodded unconvincingly. “Yes, honey. We are all of the above.”

“Good.”

Holly smiled at her.

Gail smiled back.

______________

 

When Holly finished her reading, Gail was still on the bed, messing around on her phone.

“Have you spoken to Andy?”

“I haven’t,” Gail answered absently. She was killing it at Snake--if she did say so herself--and trying to focus both on Holly and the game. But then she looked up to smile at Holly again, accidentally-on-purpose running the snake into itself. “Hi, you.”

“Hi, honey.”

Gail pulled Holly down on the bed and into a fierce hug. “You’re the best, you know that?” She held Holly’s head in her hands, sofly pulled her into and kissed her. It felt good to kiss Holly. It wasn’t as if the world stopped spinning. But Gail could feel Holly being close to her, she could feel warmth of her body, smell her shampoo. And Gail could feel herself ease into the kiss. It was a perfect first kiss. Or a perfect second kiss, depending on whether the previous one counted.

Holly nuzzled her face in Gail’s neck. “You too.”

They laid there for a while, finding comfort in each other’s embrace. Then, at a point when both of them had lost track of how long they’d been there, the door crept open. Holly didn’t seem to hear it, but Gail cracked open an eye and saw Olivia peeking in. Olivia saw that Gail had noticed her and waved, before happily skipping over to the bed when Gail motioned with her head to come over. She jumped on the bed, causing it to dip and startling Holly out of her dozing.

“Oomph!” The air was emptied out of Holly’s lungs by the weight of her little sister slamming her body on top of hers. And also Gail’s.

“Hey little one, your hair is in my mouth.”

“My hair tastes like apples.”

“Yeah, it does,” Gail agreed. “But even though I like apples,” she glanced at Holly, “kind of--don’t get any ideas,” she whispered, “I don’t really like _hairy_ apples.”

Olivia giggled.

“So get it out of my mouth.” Gail gave her a nudge. She showed her teeth. “Or I’ll have to eat it!”

Olivia pushed herself upright on her arms and looked at Holly, who hadn’t even moved an inch. “Gail’s naughty.”

“Why’s that, Liv?” Holly ignored Gail trying to hold back her laughter. “What did she do?”

“She wants to eat my apple hair!”

“Gail is just confused. She thinks apple hair is as healthy as apples.”

Olivia frowned at Gail. “That’s not very smart of you.”

“I know, kiddo. My bad. I got confused because it smells so good.”

Olivia smiled. “Very good.”

Gail nodded.

“I also have pear shampoo.”

“Eh, no, you don’t. That’s mine.”

“But Hollyyyy,” Olivia whined. “You never use it! Never _ever_!”

“That is true,” Holly conceded. “Still mine.”

“You need to learn how to share.”

Holly raised an eyebrow. “Look who’s talking.” She rolled her eyes at the innocent face Gail was pulling.

“Aw, nerd. You hurt me.”

“You can’t hurt Gail! That’s bad!”

“It’s alright, Liv.” Holly moved a little so she laid next to Gail and pulled Olivia into her. “See?” She cuddled her little sister. A whiff of something familiar caught her attention. “Hey! Did you use my shower gel?”

“Nu-uh!”

______________

 

It was an unspoken agreement that Gail would stay over, both for dinner and sleep. She had given Olivia a piggy back ride from Holly’s bedroom to the kitchen and was pretending to be a rearing horse, bristling sounds and all.

“You’re no help,” Holly laughed. “Is this how it’s gonna be?”

Gail stopped in her tracks and turned to Holly. “How what’s gonna be?”

“Our life.”

“Me playing with a kid and you setting the table? Sounds like the life I want to lead.”

“Yes!” Olivia was obviously on board with that.

Holly shook her head. “I should have known.”

Gail resumed galloping and went after Holly, who was just entering the kitchen. Jeff and Kathryn were cooking together, finding their easy and familiar rhythm to avoid bumping into each other. Just as Gail was exiting the kitchen again, she caught Jeff stealing a kiss from Kathryn. She leaned her head on his shoulder for a few seconds before carrying on cooking.

“Your parents kiss?” Gail asked when she was certain Holly’s parents couldn’t hear them.

“Duh,” came Olivia’s voice from above her. “Don’t yours?”

“I honestly don’t think they do.”

Gail put Olivia down and helped Holly finish setting the table. Before long, they had consumed their dinner with gusto and the five of them found themselves all cuddled up on the two sofas. Olivia showed a great fondness for Gail, which resulted in Holly and Olivia sandwiching her between them on the smaller sofa. Holly couldn’t help but think this fondness must run in the family. She brought another spoonful of tiramisu to her mouth when she caught Gail’s puppy eyes.

“You have some of your own,” she pointed out.

“I already ate it all,” Gail pointed out in turn.

“You still can’t have mine.”

“Guess who’s not allowed to warm their cold, cold feet on my warm body tonight?” Gail huffed.

“Me!”

Holly laughed. “Exactly, Liv, not you. You should be in your own bed soon.”

Gail yawned. “Maybe I should go to sleep too.”

Holly leaned in and pecked Gail on the cheek. She noticed too late that Gail had taken the opportunity to dip her spoon in Holly’s cup.

“Hmm.” Gail over-exaggerated her appreciation of the food she just stole.

“You’re a thief.”

Gail smiled like the Cheshire cat. “I did steal your heart.”

Holly huffed. “I’m taking it back if you keep stealing my food.”

“You wouldn’t!” Gail exclaimed.

Holly turned away so her cup of tiramisu was out of Gail’s reach. “Don’t test me.”

“You wouldn’t,” Gail repeated in a smaller voice.

A spoon with a ginormous piece of tiramisu was held out in front of Gail’s face. “I can share.”

______________

 

Holly’s parents went to bed soon after they’d put Olivia into her own. Gail and Holly followed suit. Holly was lying on her back, with Gail pressed into her side. She was running her hand through Gail’s hair, playing with a few strands that stuck out. She stopped when Gail started moving her head and frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“What is that sound?”

Holly paused for a second to listen, too. “Ah—”

But Gail interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “Do your parents have _sex_?” she asked, her eyes wide.

Holly adjusted her body so she was pressed against Gail’s back. She kissed her behind her ear. “Of course they do. How do you think they made us?”

Gail thought about that for a minute.

“I just assumed they had this picture in their head of their dream baby and somehow she magically became real.”

Holly laughed softly. But Gail’s next words made her heart skip a beat.

“Like how I had a picture in my head of the ideal person to be with and—poof—there you were.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write fluff for shit. I can't do fluff irl either. Ask Johanna, she'll confirm. (Sorry liefje!)
> 
> But at least we know who Georges is, even if he's not very relevant for this story so far.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My gf said I went to fast with everything and they need to talk about feelings more. If only she had said so before I posted last chapter… Too late now.
> 
> I think I'm annoying curious-circumstances to death with my different spelling of words and forgetting or adding extra letters, but she's handling it very well. Thank you for that!

Everything had gone to shit. Everything.

It had all started with a single, innocently sounding enough sentence. “I would like you to meet my friends.”

And Gail had agreed, although begrudgingly, because it was Holly who asked, and she couldn’t say no to Holly, even if she claimed she wasn’t whipped. Because by now, even Gail herself knew that she  _ was _ . She definitely was.

So here they were. On this sunny saturday, Gail and Holly found themselves seated in a coffee shop that Holly must have frequented at one point in her life because  _ everybody  _ who worked there knew her by name. Meaning a lot of people came by and said hi,  and Holly happily introduced Gail to them as her girlfriend, making Gail’s face go beet red every single time. That was not the most pleasant feeling. However, her heart jumping at Holly’s words every single time… kind of was a very pleasant feeling.

After seemingly half the town had passed by their table, Holly’s friends finally turned up.

Gail didn’t mind Rachel. In fact, she kind of liked the witty remarks the girl randomly threw into their conversation. But Lisa, oh, she was a completely different story. First of all, Lisa was the reason they – meaning herself and Rachel – had arrived way too late. There was some emergency that had something to do with Lisa being fired from her summer job, although that had happened several days before and it was totally Lisa’s own fault for being rude to a customer, and Gail just could not see why that was an acceptable reason for her tardiness now. Holly and Rachel seemed to accept it though, so Gail tried to set her feelings aside. Regardless, it hadn’t been the best of starts.

Then, Lisa spilled her drink all over the table, soaking Gail’s pants – and not the good kind of soaking – which meant Gail had to go to the bathroom to try and minimise the damage. Holly had offered to help, but Lisa held her back and said Rachel could go instead. For some reason, they listened to her.

“Im truly sorry,” Rachel had said when they were in the bathroom, cleaning up the mess. “Lisa can be very clumsy sometimes.”

“Oh.” Gail dabbed at her pants, sounding annoyed. “I don’t think she was being clumsy at all. Seemed very calculated to me. Seemed like she had to tell something to Holly, very urgently, and I was in her way.”

Rachel had looked away at that, and Gail knew it was true. 

They had returned to their table and Gail had caught the last pieces of their conversation, leaving her baffled. Lisa was bent towards Holly, way too close for Gail’s liking, and talking loudly. She obviously did not care that everyone and anyone could hear her. She did not try to cover up that she obviously did not approve of Gail, and hadn’t held herself back from letting Holly know just that. And to make matters worse, Holly had barely given any response. Neither her body or her mouth moved an inch to indicate that she did not agree with Lisa.

Gail had felt… Betrayed. Lonely. Let down. She felt like she wasn’t good enough, again. She didn’t want to be there anymore, near Holly and her friends. So she had taken her bag and told the three girls that she would go home and put on clean pants. After a ‘maybe see you next time’, she left. Holly had jumped from her chair and had followed Gail out. Behind them, Gail had heard Rachel give Lisa the third degree.  _ At least someone had her back. Not the right person, though. _

Holly had tried to start a conversation and ask her how she could help, but Gail cut her off every time. She offered to go back home with Gail, but Gail refused and told her she’d rather go home alone.

Holly hadn’t insisted. Well, she had tried, but even Gail had to admit that one could only take so much rejection. After all, she was ditching Holly because she felt rejected, after a single remark. Or rather, the lack thereof. So she shouldn’t blame Holly for giving up on her, but she did. Then she decided it was better this way anyway.

She didn’t even care about Holly and her stupid face and her stupid crestfallen look when she had finally given in to what Gail had demanded and left her alone.

Now Gail was here, back at her own house.

Now she feared that everything had gone to shit, and knew it was her own fault.

______________

 

Gail opened the front door as quietly as she could and immediately fled up the stairs to her room.

“Hey!” 

Gail didn’t even look around, she barged into her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

“Gail,” the door opened behind her.

“What.” It wasn’t a question. Gail was hurting and ready to lash out, at anyone.

“Woah.” Steve held up his hands, his eyes going wide. “Calm down, sis.”

Gail narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m really not in the mood for this, Steven.”

“You don’t even know what I want to ask,” he said, his typical boyish smile appearing on his face.

“I don’t even want to know,” Gail said impassively. She closed the door in his face. She walked over to her bed and let herself fall down on it.

Steve wasn’t deterred. The door opened again and he came in, taking a seat next to Gail. He crossed his legs and put his hands in between them, looking serious. “What’s wrong, little sis?”

“Nothing.”

“Right.” Steven nodded. “Where’s Holly? Weren’t you two going somewhere?”

“No.”

“Right,” Steven said again. “Right.”

“You are really bad at this.”

“I know.” He put his arm around her and pulled her into him.

“You suck.”

“I know,” he repeated. “I know.”

“You repeat yourself quite a lot.”

“That’s due to a lack of brain cells,” he smiled. “At least, that’s what you keep telling me.” He squeezed her shoulder.

“You still suck.”

“Of course I do,” he squeezed her shoulder again. “And you need to put things straight.”

After a while of nothing but staring and silence, Steve spoke up again. “So, I wanted to ask you something.”

“I gathered as much.”

Steven grinned. “So, yesterday, I kind of ran into this friend of yours, and I was wondering if I could maybe get her number off of you?”

Gail rolled her eyes. “You really do suck, you know that.”

“Is that a yes?” he asked hopefully.

“No.”

“Ah, well. At least I tried.” Steve got up and moved towards the door.

“Whom are we even talking about?”

He twirled around and grinned at her once more. “Can’t tell you. I’m a gentleman.”

She sighed. “You’re a pain in the ass, you are.”

Steve just laughed and waved it away.

______________

 

“Whose number were we talking about?” Gail asked.

Steve looked up from his computer screen. “Did you change your mind? Are you going to give it to me?”

“Probably not. So, spill.”

“Traci’s.”

“I can’t give you that.”

“Okay.”

“She has been dating Jerry for years now,” Gail explained.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Gail couldn’t ignore how his face fell, but he recovered swiftly. So she punched him. “Don’t even think about trying anything.”

Steve rubbed his shoulder and scowled. “I won’t.”

“Good.” She was about to add another insult, but got distracted by her phone vibrating. She had gotten a few texts from Holly, but she had chosen to ignore her. Well, actually, she had read the messages. She had also contemplated what to tell Holly, but she could never come up with something that was quite good enough, so she had refrained from answering. By now a few hours had passed, and Gail felt that nothing she could say could make things better. She was angry at Holly and angry at herself, for multiple reasons.

First of all, she was still angry that Holly didn’t stand up for her. She had believed that Holly and she shared the same feelings, but now she was very much doubting that. She had hoped that Holly was different, that she would be there for her.  _ But now  _ Gail thought _ , Holly seemed to have grown bored of her already. How else could you explain what happened today? _

Besides that, she was angry at herself for caring so much, for trusting someone and getting her hopes up. For being vulnerable – very un-Peck-like. Maybe her mother was right and she would never live up to the Peck standards at all. 

And third, her first instinct had been to open a WhatsApp conversation with Traci and Andy that she had muted weeks ago and had managed to ignore ever since. When she was halfway typing her message and suddenly realised what she was doing, she had deleted the whole thing and put her phone away.

And finally, even now, she didn’t know how to tell to Holly how she felt. She didn’t know how to ask Holly to choose her, to forgive her, to be with her. So she put her phone away, again, and went back to her own bedroom. 

______________

 

“I believe she’s still upstairs,” she heard her father say. “You’ll probably find her in her room. You do know the way, right?”

“Yes. Thank you,” the voice of a girl responded.

Gail could hear footsteps on the stairs and then on the parquet. They came to a halt in front of her bedroom door. No knocks. No opening of doors.

Except, then all of that had happened and a soft ‘hi’ was uttered.

“Holly-“

“I know what happened,” Traci said. “She texted me.”

Gail looked at her incredulously. 

“We exchanged numbers.”

_ “Why. _ ”

“Because I’m your friend and she’s your girlfriend—” Traci started.

“I don’t know about that,” Gail whispered, and buried her face in her pillow.

“—which means we all care about you and maybe each other.” Traci came to sit next to her, strangely like Steve did a few hours before. Gail turned her head and looked up at her. “But Gail—She wouldn’t have texted me if she felt that way, would she?”

“I don’t know, she’s a good person,” Gail sighed. “Or so I thought.”

“What happened?”

Gail scoffed. “Am I supposed to believe she didn’t tell you?”

Traci patted her leg. “Come on, Gail.”

“She—” Gail didn’t know what to say. But Traci gave her an encouraging look. “Her friend is a bitch.”

“You walked out on Holly and now you’re ignoring her, because her friend is a bitch?”

Gail narrowed her eyes at Traci. “Yes.”

“Gail, then you should be ignoring everyone, because we all have friends who are bitches.”

“Like Andy,” Gail agreed with a devilish smile.

Traci sighed. “I would like to state that I’m not one hundred percent agreeing with that statement.”

“Of course you aren’t,” Gail said, but not in a mean way. “She’s your friend. And maybe mine too. But Traci, Holly’s friend is almost as bad as Andy. Actually, scratch that. She’s @worse. I swear.”

“How come?”

“She told Holly that I’m not good enough for her. And Holly didn’t even— Traci,” Gail’s voice broke. “Holly didn’t even disagree.”

“Oh, Gail.” And just like that, Gail got pulled into another hug.  _ What was up with all these people wanting to hug her on her bed? They were all the  _ wrong  _ people, too. But her right person wasn’t there anymore. _

“I don’t need you to feel sorry for me.”

“I know that,” Traci said. She shook Gail’s shoulder. “You should talk to Holly.”

“I know that, too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gf also said I couldn't leave it like this. But I can!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, shout out to curious-circumstances who after all these years, still puts op with me and al the stupid stuff I keep sending her. Poor her.
> 
> Same goes for my gf really.

“So,” Traci asked when Gail was within hearing distance. “Have you talked to her yet?”

“No.” Gail looked sullen. Traci decided to push nonetheless.

“It’s been days. How many times has she tried to contact you? A thousand? A million?”

Gail looked away. “Approximately, yeah.”

“Gail…”

“I know, Traci.” Gail sighed. “It’s just… I can’t just go up to her and _talk_ to her after walking out on her like that.”

“She obviously wants to talk to you too.”

“I know.” Gail stayed silent for a while. “I think she’d just tell me she wants to break up with me,” she added in a small voice.

“So you’re avoiding her instead?”

Gail scowled. “It’s worked so far.”

Traci raised her eyebrows at Gail’s warped logic and hummed. “Sure.”

Gail crossed her arms in front of her chest, sensing that Traci would challenge her.

“We could go to her house.”

“Or not,” Gail contradicted.

Now it was Traci’s turn to cross her arms and scowl at Gail. “Do you have a better idea?”

Gail didn’t even pause to think before she responded. “Stay where I am, draw the curtains closed, switch off every light and turn off my phone. She might just believe that I vanished into thin air.”

“You are the most stubborn person I have ever met.”

“Thank you.”

“In this case, this is not a compliment.”

“I will still take it as one.”

“And Holly’s not so dumb as to believe that, and you know it.”

“That is correct.”

Traci huffed, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She exhaled with a sigh and caught Gail’s gaze. “I will still take you to Holly’s,” she pointed out. “No matter how big a brat you’re being.”

“Fine!” Gail threw her hands up in the air before stalking out of her room. “But just so we’re clear, I do _not_ have to talk to her!”

“We’ll see about that,” mumbled Traci. Gail did not hear her. Maybe that was for the best.

______________

 

Since she’d met Holly, Gail had ridden her bike more often than in all the years before combined. She didn’t have to think about which turns to take, which streets to cross, or anything else involving knowing how to get to Holly’s. By now, it came as naturally to her as walking or breathing. The only thing was that the closer they got, the harder it became to breathe. She felt as if even the air was conspiring against her. She hated feeling this anxious.

She liked Holly. She liked her more than she cared to admit out loud, or even silently to herself. Yet Traci had noticed. And on top of that, Traci had also said that Holly liked Gail the same way, and that they should just talk. If they’d talk, things could be alright again, as long as Gail followed Traci’s advice to throw in a heartfelt apology.

 _Maybe_ , Gail thought, _just maybe, things weren’t as bad as she assumed. Maybe there was an explanation, maybe Holly_ did _like Gail as much as Gail liked her. Maybe she and Holly could talk it out. Yeah. They could and they would._

Before they knew it, they turned around the corner of Holly’s street. Gail could hear people laughing but she didn’t think anything of it until they neared Holly’s house. There were a lot of people in the Stewart’s garden but it still didn’t take long for Gail to spot Holly. She was in deep conversation with a boy and a girl their age, laughing and… _touching them?_  Then the girl leaned in and hugged Holly, and Gail saw how Holly eased into her, before receiving a kiss on her forehead and relaxing even further. And like before in the café, the only thing Gail could think of was which escape route would get her home the quickest. (At times like these, Gail was glad that her mother had this weird obsession with studying road maps by heart as if they were live GPSs. It made her escape plans so much easier.)

So Gail ran – or rather cycled - away, again.

She didn’t hear Traci shouting after her.

She didn’t see Holly turning around and pushing away the girl while doing so. She sure as hell didn’t see the crestfallen look on Holly’s face as she realised what was happening.

______________

 

_“I miss you.”_

She didn’t send that text. Maybe she should have, but would it even make a difference anymore? She thought not. So, she didn’t press send.

The backspace and delete buttons had never been used so much before.

______________

She was hurting.

_I thought we were better. I thought we’d be stronger than this. Guess we weren’t._

______________

 

_I should have known it would end this way._

______________

 

She didn’t get any sleep that night. She hadn’t slept the night before either, or the night before that. She missed her. She missed being together. She missed spending time doing nothing together.

She had spent the whole night reminiscing, thinking about where it had gone wrong. Was it as soon as Lisa and Rachel had entered? Was it when Lisa spilled her drink on Gail or when she commanded Rachel to accompany her to the bathroom, so she could talk to Holly on her own? Was it when Lisa told Holly in scarcely veiled words what she thought about Gail and how she should dump her and find someone better and of a better family? Was it when Gail walked out, and Holly had run after her, but Gail hadn’t wanted to hear any of it? Was it when Gail didn’t respond to any of the texts Holly had sent? Or was it when Holly had stopped sending them at all because it hurt too much to be suddenly ignored like that?

It was all of it, she was sure of it. But she couldn’t for the life of her figure out how to rewind time and undo all of it.

She just wanted to start over. Be Holly and Gail again.

______________

 

“ _Have you ever noticed that so many songs with ‘stay’ in the title are truly sad? “Stay” by Rihanna, “Stay” by Alessia Cara, “I Would Stay” by Krezip, “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith, “Stay High” by Tove Lo… I wish_ you _had stayed. I wish I had, too.”_

She didn’t send that text either.

She told herself that it was because she didn’t want Holly to laugh at her knowledge of pop songs.

She was, however, fully aware that Holly would never laugh at her.

______________

 

She needed to see her. She needed to see her in flesh and blood, with her own eyes. She needed to know how she was doing, if she even crossed her mind. She needed to be around each other again and feel better. Her absence made her feel uneasy.

She had never understood the term deafening silence until now.

______________

 

Tossing and turning really wasn’t her thing. Before, when she couldn’t sleep, she’d cuddle into the sleeping body next to her and doze off instantly. She missed that. She missed everything. She dreaded the moment she would hear her utter the words ‘it over,’ dreaded the moment her world would shatter into pieces. _Here I am now, a melodramatic sap._

______________

 

In the middle of the night, she finally made her decision. Gail threw on her hoody and cycled all the way to the one girl she wanted to see most.

_“Holly, I’m coming over.”_

_“I mean… I’m already at your door.”_

_“Can you open it?”_

Right after she pressed send, the door did open. Had she been waiting for her to come? Gail felt her heart clench and her breath stagger. She could see that Holly’s eyes were brimmed with unshed tears, and she could see the sad lines on her face. She reached out, but Holly took a step back and Gail’s hand only touched air. Gail felt her lips start to quiver as she bit back her own tears.

“I’m so sorry.”

  



	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are no other people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter bc I need to take an exam on Monday, then visit Canada with the gf (and meet super-beta curious-circumstances), fly back home, have every single one of my wisdom teeth removed* and after that I'll be a working adult with probably no free time at all.

“You really hurt me.”

Maybe ten years from now, they’d laugh about it. They’d be sitting on their couch, watching some documentary on god knows what that Holly would have insisted on seeing. One of them would reminisce about old times and bring up that time back when they were so young and stupid, how silly they used to be, how glad they were they had changed since then. How they were so much better now.

But not now.

 _You hurt me._ The words still rang in her ears.

In that moment, Gail realised just how much Holly had been hurting. Traci had tried to tell her, so Gail had known it, but she hadn’t _known_ it until now. Now, Gail could see that Holly had been hurting even more than Gail herself had been. She could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. She knew it even before Holly had uttered those four words. She’d known it as soon as Holly had avoided her touch, something she had never ever done before. Not even when Gail had been her grumpy self and she must have annoyed Holly to death.

“I…” Gail took a tiny step forward, but Holly stepped back again.

Holly hunched her shoulders, arms wrapped around her chest as if hugging herself. “I can’t have you touch me right now.”

Gail’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know how to make things right, how to apologize.”

Holly’s mouth twitched with disappointment. She gripped her own upper arms until her knuckles turned white. She hadn’t closed the door on her though, so Gail continued.

“I’ve never really felt the need to give a heartfelt apology, you know? Ever. I’ve never cared before.” She stared at her own feet before deciding looking at Holly might make it harder for her to say all these words out loud, but she needed to see her reaction, however hard it might be. She swallowed, a vain attempt to get rid of the lump she felt in her throat. She felt as if she would choke. “I’ve missed you so…”

There were tears in Holly’s eyes again. It pained Gail to see them. It pained her even more that she was the one responsible for them, yet again.

“I don’t want to lose you, Holly.”

Holly sobbed quietly. Gail didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what she was allowed to do anymore. She wanted to raise her thumb to Holly’s face and sofly wipe the tears away, to hum sweet nothings to her and to reassure her it would be alright. She wanted to, but she couldn’t. Holly hadn’t said she was allowed to do any of that again. So Gail stayed there, aching to do something, anything but watching tears roll off of Holly’s cheeks.

“I don’t want to lose you either,’ Holly whispered. She roughly wiped her tears away before looking Gail in the eye. Gail had never seen such a stern look on Holly’s face before, not even when Olivia tried to pry her toast out of the toaster with her fork. “You can _never_ do this again,” she warned her. “I will not allow it.”

Gail shook her head. “I won’t,” Gail promised softly. “Holly, I promise-”

Holly looked away. “Save it for later, Gail.” Her voice cracked. “I can’t take any more of this right now.”

“Alright,” Gail whispered. “I understand.” She felt herself tear up again, and felt the lump in her throat grow. She started to turn around, preparing to leave.

Holly reached forward to pull her back. “Don’t go.”

“But…”

Holly tugged at her sleeve. “I didn’t say you had to go, I just… I can’t relive everything by talking, not right now. It’s hard enough to see you standing here. We definitely need to talk, we both know that, but I’d like to save it for later and just… be, the both of us, for a little longer.” She tugged Gail closer. “Just… Stay with me for a while, yeah?”

Gail wrapped her arms around Holly’s waist and felt herself being pulled into her. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“Do you think we can be alright again?”

“I don’t know, Gail,” she sighed. “You really hurt me.”

“I know.” Gail’s voice broke. “I’m truly sorry, Holls.”

Holly sighed and hugged her a little tighter. They stayed like that for a while, silently breathing and rejoicing in each other’s company.

“Hey,” Gail started.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“You’ve said that already.”

“You know, it sounded familiar.”

She didn’t see Holly’s smile, but she could feel it. “You really are an idiot.”

If anyone else would have said it, Gail would have lashed out at them. But not Holly. Gail could feel the warmth behind her words. “I really am,” Gail sighed. “But I promise I will try my best to _never_ let you down again.”

“Yeah,” Holly hummed. Gail could feel the vibrations of her chest against her forehead. “That’d be great.”

“You know-“

“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence,” Holly warned her. Gail opened her mouth to protest but Holly interrupted her. “Don’t forget I know you. Don’t ruin the moment by telling me you like having your face in between my boobs.”

Gail hummed and deepened their embrace. With or without Holly’s boobs, she could stay like this forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*luckily I studied for an inordinate amount of time so maybe I'll still be sort of wise afterwards) 
> 
> Did I tell you they gave us these graduation hats? We threw them in the air and one of them almost hit me in the eye when coming back down. You can see where it did hit me on the graduation pictures.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gail vs Lisa: part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello 🎵  
> It's me 🎶
> 
> I have been working for three months  
> but finally finished chapter thirteen
> 
> (this one counts as your X-mas present)

They had talked, since then. And for now, they seemed to be alright. Although Gail felt that sometimes, Holly would look at her and feel the hurt all over. But at least for now, they seemed to be alright.

They decided to take it slow for a while and only try meeting Holly’s friends again on Friday, after their first week of school. They’d agreed to meet up near Gail’s school, since she finished a little later than the other three girls. Gail had had her reservations about meeting them again. She knew that Rachel was nice enough. Since her reconciliation with Holly, she had seen her a few times in passing, although they never talked much besides exchanging some pleasantries. But she expected that Lisa would still prove to be a different beast.

As soon as the school bell rang, Gail reached for her phone and dialled Holly’s number. “Are you there yet?” Gail asked as soon as Holly picked up.

“Almost,” Holly promised. “Are you on your way?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. See you there!” Holly said cheerfully.

“Wait.” Gail interjected. “Don’t hang up yet.”

“Gail, we’ll be seeing each other in a few seconds, tops.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But don’t go yet.”

“Gail, I can literally see you now.”

“So can I.” Gail sounded impressed. “You never told me your school has you wear uniforms.”

“You never told me you had a thing for uniforms.”

“Sue me.” Gail hung up as she neared Holly.

Holly threw her arms around Gail’s neck and pressed her lips to her cheek. “Hi you.”

“Hi to you too. Soooo… Where’s the food?”

“Hold on a sec, Miss Hungry.” Holly patted Gail’s stomach. “I still can’t believe how much crap you can stuff into your mouth and still be so thin.”

“Hey! I’m not thin. I’m tall and athletic—”

Holly barked out a laugh. “Right. Let’s go inside.” Holly put her hands on Gail’s shoulders and steered her inside a cosy looking café.

After they sat down, Gail asked Holly “So where are Lisa and Rachel? Didn’t you walk here together?”

“No. We don’t share that many classes this year, and I wanted to be with you as soon as possible instead of waiting for them,” Holly said, distracted by the menu she was holding in her hands.

Gail took it from her. 

“Hey!”

Gail stuck out her tongue. “Stop pouting. I bet you come here so often that you know it by heart anyway!”

“Fair enough,” Holly conceded. “I want a hot chocolate and a piece of pie of the day.”

Hi, Holls. Hi, Gail,” Rachel greeted them with a beaming smile, pulling back a chair and shedding her uniform jacket and setting her bag aside. 

“Hi to you, too,” Gail said.

“Hi, Holly.” Lisa plopped down next to Rachel, as far away from Gail as possible, and grabbed a menu.

“What are you having?” Rachel scanned over the menu. “The usual?”

Holly nodded.

“I don’t know why I even bothered to ask.” Rachel laughed heartily. “We always do.”

Gail stood up. “I’ll go get our drinks and food.”

“Let me help,” Rachel offered, moving to get up as well.

“Yeah, thanks. That’d be great.” She grabbed her wallet. “So, hot chocolate and pie for everyone then?” Gail questioned.

Holly nodded, while Lisa pretended not to have heard her.

Rachel put her hand on Gail’s back. “Let’s go.”

Gail stiffened. She took a step forward. “Um, I--um, sorry, this is just not how I communicate.”

“Oh.” Rachel withdrew her hand quickly “I’m sorry. Won’t do it again then.” She tilted her head towards the counter. “Let’s go order.”

Gail and Rachel walked up to the counter and placed their order.

“So, I know we haven’t really talked since… You know… And maybe now is not the right time, but I just wanted to say, to maybe explain a little…”

“About that,” Gail interrupted. “Thank you for having my back, back then.”

“Oh, you heard that, did you?” Rachel’s hand moved her neck as she cast her eyes down.

“Yeah.”

Rachel sighed and looked up at her. “I get that you were mad at Holly, but, you know, it can be explained.”

Gail hummed. “That’s what she said.”

“And did you let her?” she urged.

Gail opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Now it was her turn to look away. “Not fully.”

“I think you should. Just hear her out, yeah?”

“I know.” Gail’s voice was small. She did know. But she didn’t know what kind of explanation to expect and it scared her, and she was too proud to admit that.

“Hey.” Rachel bumped her shoulder against Gail’s, making her look at her. “You’ll be alright.”

“Me?”

Rachel shook her head and smiled. “The two of you.”

“You think so?” Her voice was small. “For real?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

______________

Gail felt like no one could rightfully question her trying to be on her best behaviour. She hadn’t even tried to steal a single bite of Holly’s pie. She had sat on her chair, back straightened, smiling at appropriate times and making small talk with Rachel and Lisa. Well, mostly Rachel. Lisa had seemed to have made it her life goal to take as many jabs at Gail as she could possibly get away with, and then some.

Only this time, Holly hadn’t let her. She had politely – way more politely than Gail would have liked her to – pointed out to Lisa that she was crossing lines she should not be crossing, and that Holly would not put up with it this time. On top of that, Rachel had chimed in too, and, even if she had not said so literally, made it clear that she was not supporting Lisa being a brat again either.

So it wasn’t all that bad, Gail decided. She liked Rachel. She could pretend not to mind Lisa if only for Holly’s sake.

By talking with Holly and her friends, she had learned a bit more on how they had gotten to know each other. Through multiple remarks from Lisa about other customers who were too ‘blue collar’ and comments about things her own family did or owned, Gail had come to learn that Lisa came from a  _ very  _ wealthy family and made it her life goal to surround herself only with people from a similar background. As Lisa was ranting about a shop assistant that hadn’t been able to find her a dress in the exact same colours as the napkins they would be using at their next party – Gail didn’t understand why they didn’t just buy other napkins – Gail turned to Holly and asked how the unlikely friendship between Rachel, Lisa and Holly came to be. After all, Rachel and Holly weren’t nearly as stuck-up as Lisa seemed to be, and Gail wasn’t even sure if Holly belonged to the social circles Lisa much preferred. Holly waved her off, telling her she would explain when Lisa was not around. So, when Lisa went for a toilet break, leaving the three other girls alone, Gail asked again. She crossed her arms on the table, put her head on them and smiled at Holly.

“Um, long story…” Holly was chewing on her lower lip, a tell-tale sign that she did not know where to start. “I, uh, as a little kid, I got bullied a lot?” She took a deep breath. “And, um, like, at one point, a bunch of older and bigger girls were pulling my braids and Lisa strode up to us and punched the biggest one in the face.”

“You left out the part where they had pushed you to the ground.” Rachel and Holly both winced at the memory.

“I was never bullied again. Ever since, the three of us have been friends.”

Gail looked impressed but couldn’t refrain from a bitchy remark. “Or is this some sort of you-owe-me-I-owe-you kind of thing?” 

Holly scrunched up her face. “No. I don’t think so. She’s very protective and she’s rude and bossy sometimes—”

“Often.”

“—but she means well.”

Gail turned to Rachel. “So where do you fit in this story? Did you punch someone too?” Gail faked exasperation and looked back at Holly. “I never knew this was in the terms and conditions to become your friend.”

Rachel laughed. “No, I would never!”

Gail pulled up an eyebrow. 

“Rachel speaks the truth. She has always been very friendly and calm.”

“So what’s the story then, if there was no pulling or punching?”

“Well, our families have known each other for ages. We used to play together as kids, went to all the same gatherings and parties ever since we were born. It was kind of inevitable, don’t you think?” 

Holly nodded. “Kind of like Gail and Andy.”

Rachel shrugged. “We’ve just been friends since forever.”

“Yeah. I can see that. But I don’t fully understand how you still are. The three of you are so different. You and Holly are super friendly and polite while she… She’s quite the opposite.”

Rachel looked pensive. “I think that’s her defence mechanism. She’s been through a lot, you know. And she’s always tried to be there for us when we went through stuff as well.”

“She has her virtues too. For example, she helped me through a bad break up even though she wasn’t in a good frame of mind herself either. I think her telling Holly you weren’t good enough was a result of that.”

“I think so too. That’s why I didn’t tell her of back then. She meant well even though it came out all wrong. But I do know I should have said something, Gail, and I’m sorry I didn’t.” Holly sighed. “Life hasn’t been too easy for her lately. She’s a tough shell to crack these days, but once she lets you look behind the hard exterior, she’s a very good and loyal friend.”

“Gail scrunched up her face.

“She’s our Andy,” Holly supplied. “She’s done a lot of things we don’t approve of, but she’s still our friend. She means well, but she does have a bad way of showing it.”

“Andy isn’t as bad as Lisa!” Gail playfully shoved Holly’s shoulder. “Not even close.”

“Yeah, but you don’t agree with everything she does. She has done some things you have trouble reconciling with the image you have of her, but unless you are faking it, she’s still your friend.”

“I would never fake friendship with anyone,” Gail started to defend herself.

“Is that so,” Lisa drawled icily. Everyone at the table went silent. Gail could feel every hair on her body stand up. She must have had her guard down, having heard nor seen Lisa approach them. “Then explain to my just why you and Holly are faking a relationship.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!
> 
> And as always, dikke dankjewel for my beta curious-circumstances who read and revised this one super fast and left lovely feedback :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> how dare u

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks curious-circumstances for not giving up on (beta-ing for) me :)

“Explain to my just why you and Holly are faking a relationship.”

Six eyes widened after these words being spoken. Rachel turned around on her chair to face Lisa. “Huh?”

“You heard me.”

Holly and Gail looked at each other like deer caught in headlights. Gail reached for Holly’s hand and squeezed it, trying to reassure her. And herself, really.

“Oh, come on,” Rachel said, disbelief written all over her face. “Have you _seen_ these two? They’re head over heels.”

Another tiny squeeze.

“I have proof,” Lisa snarked. She pulled out her phone and showed them some pictures of a small book filled with what looked like Holly’s tiny handwriting. Lisa turned her phone back towards herself and started reading aloud. “ _’After that, Gail explained to uncle Zac about how we met. It was completely over the top but I kinda liked the story… Part of me wishes it was real_.’ ” Lisa looked at her disbelievingly. “Just hear yourself! There are at least two things obviously wrong with this, Holly. First of all, you are being ridiculous, and second, she’s not even gay!”

Holly’s shoulders sagged. Her hand slipped out of Gail’s. Gail couldn’t explain why but felt un-grounded by the loss of contact.

“And you lied to all of us about this! I mean, here you say, and I quote ' _We just sat there, together, just the two of us, when she took my hand in hers. Her thumb was stroking my palm and I could feel it, the electricity. For a moment I thought that we weren’t just pretending but maybe she might love me too._ ’ ” Lisa frowned. “Holly, this is insane. She’s not a lezzer like you. What the fuck were you thinking?”

A tear rolled off of Holly’s cheek. She pulled her chair back and attempted to get up. Gail reached out to comfort her.

“Stay away from her, you fraud!” Lisa barked. Gail pulled her hand back, as if burned by a fire. “You have been taking advantage of Holly for way too long already!”

Holly didn’t even look at them, walking towards the entrance of the café. She had her head bent down and was visibly shaking.

Gail and Rachel got up as well, Gail rushing after Holly and Rachel collecting their things.

Lisa followed Gail out, then stepped in front of her so she had to halt and narrowed her eyes at her. “You have been leading her on for months now.” If looks could kill –- and Gail didn’t mean by swooning over Holly’s killer looks -- she most definitely would have been dead by now and gone straight to hell. Or not so straight. Or maybe this was it and she was already in hell? Gail tried to push past Lisa.

“Stop it, Lisa.” That was Rachel, interrupting Gail’s thoughts, which was probably a good thing. And if the situation hadn’t been as serious, Gail might have cracked a joke about how Rachel looked like a pack donkey holding three people’s worth of bags and jackets.

Lisa looked at Rachel, giving Gail the opportunity to slip past her and get to Holly. “No, I won’t! I _told_ you she wasn’t good enough for Holly!” Lisa turned back to Gail, practically spitting fire at the blonde girl. “Just say I’m wrong,” Lisa taunted. “If you dare to.”

“We were faking it,” Gail said in a surprisingly steady voice while taking a step forward and taking Holly’s hand in hers again. She turned the other girl around and pulled her into her, wrapping her arms around her in one swift motion. “At first we were.” The next words were only for Holly to be heard. She spoke in a soft voice and tried to keep the tears from showing. “But now I am not. Haven’t been for longer than even you know. I like being with you, Holly.” One of her hands found ground in Holly’s hair and softly pulled Holly’s head to rest against her shoulder. Gail closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of Holly. She loved to do that, would revel in it every chance she’d get. She pressed her lips against Holly’s forehead. “I would love to tell you just how much I’ve grown to respect and adore you.” She glanced at the other girls. “But maybe, if that’s alright with you, not in front of Lisa.”

Holly nodded.

“When we talked… I mean, after you hugged your cousin at that party and my jealousy got the better of me- That- I- I guess that’s when I knew there was no way around it. I already knew I love you, but that’s when I knew I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“Because you felt jealous?” Holly sniffled.

“No.” Gail laughed softly. “Because seeing you hug someone made me want to sell my soul to the devil to swap places with them. I mean, the only other thing I’d sell my soul for is food. So what I feel for you must be a kind of love that is worth fighting for.”

“So why didn’t you just talk to me?

“Because I thought I screwed up. I still think I did. But you’re so forgiving, Holly, and I want to do everything within my power to show you that I’ll be worth it.”

Holly hugged her a little tighter. “You are.”

______________

“Um, is this true?”

“Of course it is,” Gail said, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you asking?”

Lisa shuffled uncomfortably on her feet.

“What did you do.”

“I, uh—”

“Oh my god, Lisa, how could you?” Rachel looked up from her phone, wide-eyed. “Is this why my phone has been buzzing over and over?”

Gail was confused. “What did she do?”

Holly took Rachel’s phone. As soon as she saw the screen, all colour drained from her face.

“Seriously, Lisa, this is the worst shit you’ve ever pulled. And to think I defended you to Gail! How dare you!”

“ _What_ did she _do?_ ” Gail demanded.

“She put it all online.”

“She _what?_ ”

“She put everything online – she wrote that you were faking it and even included some screenshots.”

“I will take it all offline! Look.” Lisa took her phone and opened the offending page. “See? I’m deleting it right now as we speak.” Her voice gained an octave. She waved her phone around. “Look. It’s gone! It’s all gone now!”

“Lisa, you of all people should know that the internet _never_ forgets,” Rachel gestured wildly. She stalked up and down the pavement as she spoke, trying to think of a way to minimise the damage.

While Rachel and Lisa bickered, Gail’s focus was entirely on Holly. She put her hand between Holly’s shoulder blades and leaned into her. “Holls, are you alright?”

“Everyone could have seen this already”

Uh oh.

“She tagged this. Our friends will have seen this. My parents will have.” Holly looked up. “Both of our parents might have.”

Uh oh.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to build up this storyline differently and have them be the subject of strange rumors. They shouldn't have found out until much later that Lisa (or someone else, I hadn't decided yet) read Holly’s diary and spread these rumors around. Alas, I forgot that I had planned it like that, wrote the previous chapter... and now the story had to be altered to this. Ah well. We'll suffer through it.


End file.
